Divisional Court grants appeal in Thomson Reuters class action
The Divisional Court has granted the plaintiff’s appeal in the Waldman v. Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. class action.
This class action was commenced in May 2010 against Thomson Reuters Corporation and Thomson Reuters Canada Limited on behalf of a class of Canadian lawyers and law firms. The claim alleged that Thomson Reuters’ “Litigator” service, which is a fee and subscription-based database for lawyer-created court documents that permits users to copy and edit documents for their own purposes, breaches copyright by making available original lawyer created legal documents without permission from, or compensation to, the authors of the documents.
The class action was certified in 2012 and the parties reached a settlement of the class action in October 2013. However, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice refused to approve the settlement on the basis that it was more beneficial to class counsel than to class members, and it effectively expropriated the class members’ property rights in exchange for a charitable donation from Thomson Reuters.
Today, the Divisional Court allowed the plaintiff’s appeal and approved the settlement. Follow this link to find out more.
The Financial Post discusses the implication of the Divisional Court’s decision for class action litigation.
Practice Areas
Appeals & Judicial Review, Civil Litigation, Class Action Litigation