Procedural Fairness - Is It Getting Harder To Amend A Class Action Claim?

Lawyers practicing class action litigation in Canada will be familiar with the constantly moving target of the amended Statement of Claim.  It is not unusual for a claim to be amended three or four times prior to the certification hearing or even while the matter is under appeal if certification fails.  There have been numerous instances where the Court itself suggests the amendment.  Now in a pair of recent decisions, Justices Belobaba and Perell may be signalling an end to the practice.

In his recent decision[1] in the long running battle between Pet Valu and a group of its former franchisees, Justice Belobaba refused to allow a last minute amendment to the claim citing prejudice to the defendant arising from the Court's role in encouraging the proposed amendment.