Class Actions
Practice area
At Circle Barristers, we are experts in class actions. Class actions are a cost-effective way for a group of people who have faced similar harm to seek justice through a single case.
Class actions are an important access to justice tool. They compensate those directly harmed. But they also prevent others from experiencing harm in the future because they can change the law and modify the behaviour of those legally responsible.
We have worked on privacy, employment, constitutional, competition, and consumer protection class actions.
In particular, we are experts in class actions where the harm suffered includes violations of the Charter, human rights codes, and negligence by a government body.
Our class action work includes:
Ferris v. Attorney General of Canada: Disabled post-secondary students seek to certify a class action on the basis that the Canada Student Loan Program (CSLP) discriminated based on disability; the potentially longer course of study for disabled students increases their debt level, and the CSLP fails to accommodate for this disability-related debt.
Davis v. Amazon Canada Fulfillment Services ULC: Delivery drivers hired directly by Amazon and by third parties sought certification of a class action for a failure to pay wages and benefits in compliance with the Employment Standards Act on the basis either that the drivers were misclassified as independent contractors or that Amazon was a common employer.
Leonard et al. v. The Manufacturer’s Life Insurance Company: Holders of certain Manulife policies purchased through brokers sought to certify a class action for breach of privacy. The class action raised novel issues of class action procedure in British Columbia.