Certification Denied In Proposed Class Proceeding Against Gun Manufacturer For Mass Shooting

An Ontario Superior Court Judge has refused to certify a class action against the manufacturer of the handgun used to carry out the 2018 mass shooting on Danforth Avenue in Toronto. The plaintiffs brought their claim on behalf of those killed or otherwise affected by the tragedy. After a two-phase process, Justice Paul Perell found no basis in fact for concluding that the handgun used in the shooting had been negligently designed or that the manufacturer's alleged negligence had caused the plaintiffs' injuries.

Justice Perell's decision followed an earlier determination in Price v Smith & Wesson Corp, 2021 ONSC 1114 (Price), that the plaintiffs' negligent design claim, based on the lack of certain safety features in the handgun's design, was not bound to fail based on the pleadings. In 2020, Justice Perell bifurcated the certification process into two phases: (1) an initial assessment of the adequacy of the plaintiffs' claims based only on the pleadings; and (2) if