Court highlights value of first-settling defendant co-operation in “ice breaker” settlements
In a recent decision from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Di Filippo and Caron v. Bank of Nova Scotia et al, 2019 ONSC 3282 (Di Filippo), Justice Belobaba approved an “ice breaker” settlement in a price-fixing class action despite the “token” settlement amount — which represented less than 6% of the settlement paid by the same defendants in parallel proceedings in the U.S. — on the basis of the “inestimable value” of the first-settling defendants’ agreement to co-operate with class counsel.
