Ontario Judges May Sit On National Class Actions Outside Ontario

The Ontario Court of Appeal, in a split decision, has held that a judge of Ontario's Superior Court of Justice, acting as a supervisory judge under a national class action settlement agreement, can participate in a joint hearing with non-Ontario judges either inside or outside Ontario. The ultimate decision accords with the British Columbia Court of Appeal's ruling on the same issue. Given the national issues raised by these appeals and the partial dissent, these cases may be headed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

In the late 1980s, people infected with the Hepatitis C virus by the Canadian blood supply initiated class actions in Ontario, British Columbia and Québec. In 1999, the parties settled, which established a $1.118 billion fund for claimants across Canada. The governments of all of the provinces and territories other than Québec and British Columbia attorned to the jurisdiction of the Ontario court. Class members who are residents of provinces and territories