First Ontario Privacy Class Action Certified Against Employer Via Vicarious Liability

In Evans v. Bank of Nova Scotia, 2014 ONSC 2135, Justice Smith certified a class action for, among other claims, the tort of inclusion upon seclusion, against both the Bank of Nova Scotia (the "Bank") and Richard Wilson. This is the first "privacy law" class action certified by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

BACKGROUND

Mr. Wilson was a Mortgage Administration Officer of the Bank.  In this capacity, he had access to clients' private and confidential information.  Without authority, Mr. Wilson accessed this information and provided it to his girlfriend, who then disseminated the information to third parties for fraudulent and improper purposes.

When the Bank discovered this, it identified 643 individuals whose files Mr. Wilson had accessed.  It offered them a complimentary subscription to credit monitoring and identity theft protection services, and for those who were the victims of identity theft or fraud, it offered compensation for the pecuniary