Certification of a Class Action

In order for a case to be allowed to proceed as a class action, it has to be certified by the court, and the case must meet certain certification criteria. In fact, there are five.

1. A claim recognized in law
2. A class of two or more people
3. Class members share common issues
4. Class action is the preferable procedure
5. A suitable class representative

The first certification criterion is that the pleadings, the statement of the case, discloses a cause of action. It has to be a claim that’s recognized in law.

The second certification criterion is that an identifiable class of two or more people are going to be represented in the class action.

The next criterion the court has to consider is whether the proposed class members share common issues.

The fourth criterion is whether a class proceeding is a preferable procedure to a class procedure.

The last certification criterion is whether there’s a suitable representative plaintiff who must step forward to represent the class. The court needs to be satisfied that the representative plaintiff is prepared to put in the time, work, energy and effort to represent the class and make sure that their best interests are protected.

If all those criteria are met, the court will certify the case as a class action or a class proceeding and then order that notice be given to all potential class members as a preliminary step before the case moves forward.

Robert M. Ben is a Personal Injury Lawyer and a Partner at Thomson Rogers LLP. Robert is listed in peer-reviewed publications – Lexpert® and The Best Lawyers™ in Canada and is ranked AV preeminent in Martindale-Hubbell ®. Robert can be reached at 416-868-3168 or by email.