Experience

Roy O’Connor LLP is among Canada’s leading class action counsel. The lawyers of Roy O’Connor LLP have obtained precedent setting judgments for both plaintiffs and defendants in class proceedings. Peter Roy, David O’Connor, Sean Grayson and Adam Dewar are among the most respected and effective class actions lawyers in Canada. In June 2010, the Canadian Bar Association National magazine recognized us as one of the best class action firms in Canada.

Areas of Practice

The lawyers of Roy O’Connor LLP have acted in a number of Canada’s largest and most complex class action cases in the fields of:

• product liability
• employment related claims including unpaid overtime and misclassification
• securities and market liability claims
• insurance and pension litigation
• charter violations
• public health & medical negligence
• professional negligence

As class counsel, Roy O’Connor LLP’s lawyers have secured judgements and settlements worth over $2.5 billion dollars to class members.

As defense counsel, Roy O’Connor LLP’s lawyers have acted for some of the world’s leading corporate defendants, officers and directors and individuals in cases involving securities and secondary market liability, product liability, mass tort, price fixing conspiracies and environmental class actions. By fully understanding both sides of class proceedings the lawyers of Roy O’Connor LLP are able to give clients valuable insight into class proceedings. By utilizing such experience, Roy O’Connor LLP’s lawyers were part of a counsel team that defeated a secondary market liability claim at the certification stage, which is the only victory of its kind to date.

For further information on our Class Action practice, please contact Peter Roy at plr@royoconnor.ca or David O’Connor at dfo@royoconnor.ca.

Past & Current Plaintiff Cases include:

• Fantl v. Transamerica Life Canada – a class action to recover management fee overcharges on insurance products. In 2009, our team of lawyers negotiated a settlement that saw 100% of the more than $50 million in overcharges paid back to the benefit of the class
• Fulawka v. Bank of Nova Scotia – a class action for unpaid overtime on behalf of front line sales employees certified by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in 2009
• Fresco v. CIBC – a class action for unpaid overtime on behalf of front line bank workers against CIBC
• McCracken v. CNR – a class action for unpaid overtime on behalf of first-line supervisors against CNR
• McCarthy v. Attorney General of Canada – a class action against the Federal Government on behalf of people infected with Hepatitis C through blood transfusions received in Canada before 1986 or after 1990. In 2006, our lawyers negotiated a settlement worth approximately $1 billion to the class.
• Hislop v. Canada – a constitutional class action for same-sex survivor pensions that resulted in a trial judgment valued at over $50 million