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ARTICLE · 07 OCTOBER 2025

Evidentiary Standards And Remedial Common Issues At Certification: Syngenta AG v. Van Wijngaarden, 2025 BCCA 334

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In Syngenta AG v. Van Wijngaarden, 2025 BCCA 334, the British Columbia Court of Appeal reaffirmed the importance of the ordinary rules of evidence at certification hearings.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
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Canadian Class Actions Monitor
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Kevan Hanowski
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Jill Yates
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Stephanie Sugar
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Emma Walsh
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In Syngenta AG v. Van Wijngaarden, 2025 BCCA 334, the British Columbia Court of Appeal reaffirmed the importance of the ordinary rules of evidence at certification hearings. The Court of Appeal also issued guidance on the certification of remedial common issues: where certified common issues cannot lead to a liability finding, it is an error to certify common issues about damages, disgorgement and health care cost recovery.

The rules of evidence still apply at certification

At certification, the plaintiff tendered thousands of pages of online materials appended to solicitors' affidavits. These materials included court documents from the United States, scientific studies, news articles, web pages, and advertisements, among other things. The Court of Appeal criticized this approach:

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