In recent years, class actions are experiencing strong growth in Quebec and Canada. Besides the considerable economic challenges they present, defending a class action can have far reaching implications for our clients’ customer relations, investor relations, reputation in the market place and market capitalization. Hence the importance of having a strong, experienced defence team.
 

At Lavery, you can rely on the expertise of seasoned lawyers who specialize in the field of class actions. Renown among leaders at the national level, they actively contribute to the evolving practice of class action in Quebec and in Canada. Over the past 30 years, the firm has been involved in numerous class action lawsuits including multijurisdictional and cross-border class actions. Some of our lawyers have been recognized as class action specialists by The Canadian Legal LEXPERT® and The Best Lawyers in Canada.

Highlights
Lavery’s lawyers have been called repeatedly to act as defence counsel in opposing the certification (authorization) of class actions and acting on the merits before the Superior Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. In addition, they have defended cases considered as landmark judgments of the Court of Appeal, particularly in the following matters:
 

Consumer protection law
Bouchard v. Agropur et al.
 

Environmental law
Citoyens pour une qualité de vie v. Aéroports de Montréal
 

Competition law
Harmegnies v. Toyota Canada inc. et al.
 

Involvement in other class action suits

• For various religious communities in the class actions known as the “Duplessis Orphans” case;
• For life insurance companies against policyholders under participating or universal life insurance policies concerning premium offset options
• For an employer and its officers against employees with respect to an amendment to a pension plan conferring enhanced benefits on employees opting for early retirement;
• From action in damages against a railway company by residents living near a yard for nuisance and hardship due to increased traffic and noise
• In a constitutional challenge of the Act respecting the Rapides des Cèdres dam and reservoir launched against an electricity producer
• In an action in damages launched by the residents of Roxton Pond following TCE contamination of the water table
• In an action brought by residents alleging to have been adversely affected by the release of sulphur trioxide at a chemical plant
• In an action based on the use by insurers of non-original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts in the repair of damaged motor vehicles
• In an action against a supplier of raw materials in connection with the manufacture of plumbing products using polybutylene
• In an action against a mutual fund dealer for market timing
• In an action against directors and officers of a company regarding the collapse of the company’s stock value
   

Numerous favourable class action settlements such as

• Price fixing of sorbate and vitamins in breach of the Competition Act
• Action against a manufacturer of contaminated pet food;
• Action by victims of the Saguenay flood;
• Residential schools lawsuit against the federal government
• The Bre-X case, involving the coordination of class action suits in several jurisdictions across North America
• The Maple Leaf Foods case : listeriosis food contamination
   

Expertise in numerous areas of practice

• Competition law
• Consumer law
• Product liability
• Environmental litigation
• Actions under the automobile insurance industry indemnification policy
• Securities
• Actions under pension plans
• Cases in which plaintiffs claimed compensation for past social wrongs
• Actions against life insurers
• Lawsuits involving the sale of pharmaceutical products and medical equipment
• Privacy
• Financial products
   

Principal clients

• AEPC
• Aéroports de Montréal
• Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America
• Assurances générales des Caisses Desjardins inc.
• Attorney General of Canada
• AXA Insurance Inc.
• Brascan
• Canadian National
• Canadian Electrolytic Zinc Limited
• Chubb Insurance Company of Canada
• Crown Life Insurance Company
• Daicel Chemicals Industries Ltd.
• Fédération des Caisses Desjardins inc.
• Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited
• Gaz Métro
• Group Carbone Lorraine
• Hoechst Celanese Corporation
• Hollinger International
• Honda Canada
• Hydro-Québec
• Imperial Oil Ltd.
• Independent Order of Foresters (IOF)
• ING Canada
• Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC)
• Labatt Breweries of Canada Limited
• Laiterie et Boulangerie Parmalat inc.
• Les Entreprises Claude Chagnon inc.
• Les Pétroles Global inc.
• Maple Leaf Foods Inc.
• M.D. Management Ltd.
• Manulife Financial
• Mentor Corporation
• Merck KGaA
• Natural Selection Foods
• National Bank of Canada
• Pfizer Canada Inc.
• Place Bonaventure Inc.
• Purdue Pharma Inc.
• Random House, Inc.
• Richardson Greenshields of Canada Ltd.
• Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada
• 7-Eleven Inc.
• SNC-Lavalin Inc.
• Stanley Canada Corporation
• Stone Consolidated
• The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation
• Toyota Canada Inc.
• Transamerica Life Insurance Company of Canada
• TVI Pacific Inc.
• Ultramar Ltd.
• Unimedia Company
• Various religious communities
• Yahoo! Inc.