Wednesday: What’s Hot on CanLII

Each Wednesday we tell you which three English-language cases and which French-language case have been the most viewed on CanLII and we give you a small sense of what the cases are about.

For this last week:

1. Pro Sys Consultants Ltd. v. Microsoft Corporation 2013 SCC 57
   

   [1] It is no simple task to assess liability and apportion damages in situations where the wrongdoer and the harmed parties are separated by a long and complex chain of distribution, involving many parties, purchasers, resellers and intermediaries. Such is the problem presented by indirect purchaser actions in which downstream individual purchasers seek recovery for alleged unlawful overcharges that were passed on to them through the successive links in the chain.

   [2] The complexities inherent in indirect purchaser actions are magnified when such actions are brought as a class proceeding. When that happens, the courts are required to grapple with not only the difficulties associated with indirect purchaser actions, but are also then asked to decide whether the requirements for certification of a class action are met. These are the questions the Court is faced with in this appeal.

2. Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board 2013 HRTO 440
   

   [6] The applicant was employed by the respondent school board from October 24, 1988 to July 8, 2004. From September 1994, she became a permanent employee in the role of Supervisor, Regulated Substances, Asbestos.

   [7] In the fall of 2001, the applicant developed a generalized anxiety disorder. Her disability was a reaction to the highly stressful nature of her job, and her fear that, in making a mistake about asbestos removal, she could be held personally liable for a breach of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.1, as amended.
   [8] The applicant received long-term disability benefits (“LTD”) through the Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan (“OTIP”) until April 3, 2004, when she was assessed as capable of gainful employment.

3. Mayer et al. v. 1474479 Ontario Inc. et al. 2013 ONSC 6806
   

   [1] This action stemmed from a motor vehicle accident in March of 2008 and proceeded to resolution by a civil jury trial; a trial which began with selection of a jury on September 16, 2013, and concluded with a jury verdict and corresponding judgment on October 10, 2013.

The most-consulted French-language decision was R. c. Rondeau 1996 CanLII 6516 (QC CA)

L’intimé est inculpé (1) d’avoir comploté avec Stéphane Cerutti pour commettre un meurtre et (2) du meurtre au premier degré de Richard Lessard, survenu le ou vers le 25 février 1996. Cerutti, qui est inculpé des mêmes accusations, s’est vu refuser sa mise en liberté provisoire par le juge Pierre Béliveau, de la Cour supérieure, et se pourvoit maintenant devant cette cour en révision de cette décision; cette cour est également saisie de ce pourvoi qui sera l’objet d’un jugement distinct.