Class Dismissed: B.C. Court Of Appeal Affirms Summary Judgment Decision Dismissing Proposed Class Action

On February 13, 2025, the B.C. Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal from summary judgment in Latifi v. The TDL Group Corp., confirming that a claim for conspiracy to injure will fail where the predominant purpose of an agreement was to benefit the parties to it, even if the agreement may also injure a third party. The B.C. Court of Appeal confirmed that the application judge had not erred in granting summary dismissal of the action on the basis of the defendant's uncontroverted evidence undermining an essential element of the claim.

The B.C. Supreme Court Decision

The Defendant, a franchisor of quick-service restaurants, previously included a "No-Solicitation Clause" in its franchise agreements prohibiting franchisees from soliciting each other's employees absent the Defendant's prior written consent. (The Defendant ceased enforcing and including this clause in new franchise agreements in September 2018.)