Talking To The Class — Carefully, Very Carefully

Aticle by Dana M. Peebles and Emma Sarkisyan

Companies doing business in Canada, and especially franchisors, should review two recent decisions of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Court) that considered the risks of communications to members of a proposed or certified class: if such communications persuade people not to participate in the lawsuit, courts have to consider whether to step in to protect the class size and cohesion, so that defendants do not weaken the economic viability of, and possibly "dismember," the class action.

The Cases

While the underlying principles of the decisions are similar — protecting class members from misinformation about the class action (whether from the defendant or otherwise) — the fact situations and outcomes are different in the two cases.