Ontario Judge Certifies Global Investor Class in Landmark Decision

A pair of groundbreaking rulings issued Monday by an Ontario judge in a securities class action has suddenly made the province a much more attractive jurisdiction for plaintiffs pursuing global securities litigation.

The case, filed against IMAX Corp. and several individual defendants in Toronto in the fall of 2006, is considered a litmus test for a new securities law creating U.S.-style civil liability for misrepresentations that affect stock market values.

Monday’s two-part decision permits the litigation to proceed and separately certifies a global class of investors — no small matter considering that some 80-85 percent of investors reside outside of Canada. The decision also explicitly calls the threshold for such pleadings a low one, which “will no doubt be cheered by investors, and jeered by Bay and Wall Streets,” wrote Jim Middlemiss at The Legal Post.

via Ontario Judge Certifies Global Investor Class in Landmark Decision.