By Robert Todd
USA F
MADE IN THE
U.S.-born class actions are increasingly migrating north of the border.
ord Motor Co. of Canada Ltd. faced a relatively straightforward product liability class action in 2006. The case surrounded allegations of defective door latches in various truck models, involving some 300,000 vehicles. While it was unsur- prising to see the action end up at the Ontario Superior Court, how it got there was somewhat anomalous. The court's ruling in Poulin v. Ford Motor Co. of Canada noted that paral-
lel litigation led by plaintiffs' litigation firm Motley Rice LLC existed in the U.S. Curiously, the firm entered into an agreement to act as a consultant to Canadian class counsel firm Will Barristers: Morin & Miller LLP, which filed the Poulin action in Ontario. The deal would see the Canadian firm collect 70 per cent of approved fees, with the remainder going to Motley Rice, which would also fund disbursements. The atypical arrangement caught the court's attention, especially a separate agreement between the firms indicating that Will Barristers must consult with Motley Rice before incurring and paying any disbursement of more than $2,500. That reluctance was framed around the separate finding that the Canadian representative plaintiff, Maurice Poulin, seemed to lack awareness of the nature of the claim and was therefore of questionable value in that capacity.
14 • DECEMBER 2010/JANUARY 2011 INHOUSE
MICK COULAS
