A judge has given one G20 class action lawsuit the green light to seek certification, while calling a halt to another.
The $45 million suit launched by office administrator Sherry Good on behalf of people subject to mass arrests during the June 2010 Toronto meeting of world leaders can now ask a judge for certification.
But the $115 million G20 suit launched by activists Miranda McQuade and Mike Barber is stayed, Justice Carolyn Horkins ruled in a judgment released Tuesday in Ontario Superior Court.
Legal teams from each proposed class action sought an order staying the other.
Under court rules, only one can proceed for practical reasons, explained lawyer Murray Klippenstein who, with Eric Gillespie, represents Good.
“The Sherry Good lawsuit would include most of the individuals covered by the other lawsuit,” Klippenstein said.
The Good action was launched on behalf of people arrested or subjected to mass detention and who were released without charge or held at the Eastern Ave. detention centre.
The McQuade action defines its members as those arrested, detained, assaulted or charged on June 26 and 27, as well as all those at the detention centre from June 25 to 30.
“There is no meaningful difference in the causes of action pled,” Horkins wrote. Both allege Charter violations and alleged assault and battery, false imprisonment, abuse of public office and negligence.
However, there are important differences in the structures of the two, including the people they seek to include, Horkins said.
The Good action focuses on mass detention and arrests at seven locations.
In contrast, the McQuade action proposes classes of claimants that will trigger individual inquiries before its members can be admitted, the judge wrote.
“It requires an individual inquiry into the factual circumstances surrounding an alleged detention or assault to determine if the individual is a class member or not,” she wrote.
The McQuade class is extremely broad and does not differentiate between those arrested, detained, assaulted or charged, Horkins said. “This approach seems to rely upon sweeping allegations of wrongdoing that challenge the police conduct at large.”
In a related ruling, Horkins denied an application by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association to intervene in the Good lawsuit.
Source: http://www.thestar.com
The $45 million suit launched by office administrator Sherry Good on behalf of people subject to mass arrests during the June 2010 Toronto meeting of world leaders can now ask a judge for certification.
But the $115 million G20 suit launched by activists Miranda McQuade and Mike Barber is stayed, Justice Carolyn Horkins ruled in a judgment released Tuesday in Ontario Superior Court.
Legal teams from each proposed class action sought an order staying the other.
Under court rules, only one can proceed for practical reasons, explained lawyer Murray Klippenstein who, with Eric Gillespie, represents Good.
“The Sherry Good lawsuit would include most of the individuals covered by the other lawsuit,” Klippenstein said.
The Good action was launched on behalf of people arrested or subjected to mass detention and who were released without charge or held at the Eastern Ave. detention centre.
The McQuade action defines its members as those arrested, detained, assaulted or charged on June 26 and 27, as well as all those at the detention centre from June 25 to 30.
“There is no meaningful difference in the causes of action pled,” Horkins wrote. Both allege Charter violations and alleged assault and battery, false imprisonment, abuse of public office and negligence.
However, there are important differences in the structures of the two, including the people they seek to include, Horkins said.
The Good action focuses on mass detention and arrests at seven locations.
In contrast, the McQuade action proposes classes of claimants that will trigger individual inquiries before its members can be admitted, the judge wrote.
“It requires an individual inquiry into the factual circumstances surrounding an alleged detention or assault to determine if the individual is a class member or not,” she wrote.
The McQuade class is extremely broad and does not differentiate between those arrested, detained, assaulted or charged, Horkins said. “This approach seems to rely upon sweeping allegations of wrongdoing that challenge the police conduct at large.”
In a related ruling, Horkins denied an application by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association to intervene in the Good lawsuit.
Source: http://www.thestar.com
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