The perils of evidentiary ‘Jenga towers’ in securities class actions

Legal Year in Review

In this article – “The perils of evidentiary ‘Jenga towers’ in securities class actions" – we review a series of securities class action decisions in 2022 where Ontario courts provided useful guidance on elements of the statutory cause of action for secondary market misrepresentation; the gatekeeping role of leave motion judges; guidance on what constitutes a material change for purposes of the Securities Act (Ontario); the substantial evidentiary burden imposed on plaintiffs seeking to bring statutory secondary market claims based on forward-looking statements by management about future risks; the requirement for cogent evidence where technical disclosures do not reveal any obvious misrepresentation on their face; and the court’s role in scrutinizing plaintiffs’ evidence at the leave stage.

This article is authored by Mark A. Gelowitz, Craig Lockwood and Rob Carson, partners, Litigation; and Lipi Mishra and Elie Farkas, associates, Litigation.
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Our Legal Year in Review, published December 7, 2022, provides general information only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice. Specific advice should be sought in connection with your circumstances.
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