This Week At The SCC (19/04/2013)

The Supreme Court heard two appeals this week in cases of interest to Canadian business and professions.

An appeal was heard from AIC Limited et al. v. Dennis Fischer et al., 2012 ONCA 47, a ruling in which the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned the motion judge's initial refusal to certify a class action. The proceeding had been commenced against mutual fund managers who were alleged to have permitted "market timing" activities, to the detriment of long-term investors. An investigation had been conducted by the Ontario Securities Commission, which led to settlement agreements between the managers and the Commission. The motions judge had ruled that the existence of these settlement agreements precluded a class proceeding from being the preferable procedure. The Court of Appeal disagreed.