Appellate Court Overturns Certification Of Defendant's Counterclaim

In Thorne v. College of the North Atlantic, 2018 NLCA 33  ("Thorne"), the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal (the "Court of Appeal") dealt with the novel issue of whether a counterclaim is certifiable as a class action under the Class Actions Act, SNL 2001, c. C-18.1 (the "Act"). The Court in Thorne overturned certification of the counterclaim filed by the defendant on the basis it did not meet the statutory requirements for certification outlined in the Act.

Similar to class action legislation in all other Canadian jurisdictions, with the exception of proceedings in the Federal Court, the Act does not expressly provide for the certification of counterclaims and only refers to counterclaims in the context of providing notice of certification. Given the novelty of the issue in Canadian jurisprudence, and the similarity of legislation in other jurisdictions, this case is important because it provides a precedent for the interpretation of class