BC Court Of Appeal: Certification Applications Need Not Come First In Class Proceedings

In British Columbia v. The Jean Coutu Group (PJC) Inc, the British Columbia Court of Appeal weighed in on the issue of sequencing in class actions for the first time, rejecting the idea that there is a "presumption" or "general rule" that the certification application should be the first procedural matter heard and determined in an intended class action. The BC Court of Appeal decision in Jean Coutu reverses a clear trend that has developed in the British Columbia trial court.

The Court of Appeal expressly stated that earlier lower court decisions that referred to any such "presumption" were "wrongly decided and should not be followed." Each pre-certification application must be decided on its own individual merits, the Court said, and each application must be determined in the context of the particular case before the court.