Excalibur Special Opportunities LP v Schwartz Levitsky
Feldman,1 is a recent example of a global
class proceeding being certified in Ontario. The majority of the
Ontario Court of Appeal certified this action for auditor's
negligence despite 98% of the proposed class members being
non-residents of Ontario. Ultimately, the jurisdictional analysis
turned on how the proposed claim was characterized with the
majority of the Court of Appeal holding that it is for the
plaintiff to plead their claim as they see fit and to fail or
succeed on that basis.2 The fact that all but one of the
class members could be contacted directly was also important.
Background
Excalibur Special Opportunities LP ("Excalibur") was
one of 57 investors (50 of which were American and only two of
which were Canadian) that lost money in an expressly high-risk
investment in an American corporation, Southern China Livestock
International Inc. ("Southern China"). Excalibur was one
of the largest
