To Plead Or To Concede?...That Should Be The Question

In Bernstein v. Peoples Trust Company, the Court transmitted "a salutary message... to Class Counsel that they should not over-plead their case and that they should make appropriate admissions or concessions."

Background

The representative plaintiff successfully certified a class action on behalf of all consumers in Ontario who purchased or acquired a prepaid payment card sold or issued by Peoples Trust Company between October 1, 2007 and April 30, 2014. The parties were unable to agree on costs. The defendants contested the quantum of costs sought by the plaintiff for the certification motion on the grounds that it was not fair and reasonable based on the outcome, as the class definition was found to be overbroad (by including members whose claims were presumptively statute-barred).