In Sorenson v easyhome Ltd, 2013 ONSC 4017, the
plaintiff brought a motion seeking approval of a settlement
agreement and the class counsel's fees. The motion was on
consent with the exception of the plaintiff's selection of the
Canadian Foundation for Advancement of Investor Rights
("FAIR"), an organization dedicated to enforcing
shareholders' rights, as the cy près
recipient. After the settlement was finalized, the defendants
learned that the class counsel, Siskinds, had provided pro
bono services to FAIR, and that FAIR and Siskinds made similar
submissions to the Ontario Securities Commission with regard to a
particular OSC Staff Notice.
Justice Perell explained access to justice for class members and
behaviour modification on the part of defendants are factors to be
considered when deciding whether or not to approve a particular
cy près distribution. The objectives require
class members to indirectly benefit from the distribution
exclusively, and thus preclude
