Canada, Class actions, Financial services
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Class actions create ethical minefields

Class action ethics, an issue barely broached by academic circles, the legal profession and even by regulatory authorities or bar associations, has now surfaced following a series of rulings that underscore the tension between the singular nature of class action litigation and the traditional position that ethical guidelines governing single plaintiff proceedings also apply to class actions.

In the absence of rules of professional conduct tailored for class action litigation, the courts have begun filling in the gap and providing guidance, albeit on a case-by-case basis, on the ethical minefields that line the class action landscape, the latest of which was Smith Estate v. National Money Mart Company, 2011 ONCA 233, in which the Ontario Court of Appeal voiced concerns the courts have over an uncontested motion for class counsel fees in the face of an adversarial vacuum.

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  1. Pingback: Plaintiff class action legal fees under the microscope - Law in Quebec

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