Are Repetitive Class Actions Res Judicata Or Abusive (And What Future For The Authorization Stage)?

Proposed class actions dismissed at the authorization stage resulting from the plaintiff's lack of a cause of action or its incapacity to represent the class rarely remain unattended and are often reinstituted with another plaintiff.

The Court of Appeal was recently seized with the issue as to whether a novel motion for authorization to institute a class action filed by another putative class members could be sanctioned as being res judicata or amounting to an abuse of process. Without having so concluded, the Court of Appeal in Whirpool Canada v. Gaudette¹ nonetheless mentioned that the circumstances in which a second motion for authorization to institute a class action could proceed were limited, especially to ensure a sound management or judicial resources.