In Leslie v Agnico-Eagle Mines, Justice Belobaba of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved a $17 million settlement and legal fees in a securities class action, but not before critiquing the practice among class counsel in Ontario of using "boiler-plate" reasons and a "one-sided" presentation when seeking judicial approval of settlements. In his reasons, Justice Belobaba expressed frustration with class counsel who present "an unhelpful catalogue of self-serving (almost generic) reasons why the settlement should be approved" without providing information about why the settlements fall within a zone of reasonableness. In this particular case, Justice Belobaba sought out further information from class counsel and it was only after class counsel agreed to file a supplementary affidavit (which described in more detail certain recently discovered risks and the range of possible damage recoveries) that approval was given. Justice Belobaba made clear his view that judicial approval of class action settlements needs more rigour and stated that class counsel "must at the very least provide the court with information why the settlement amount falls within a range or zone of reasonableness." Financial institutions seeking approval of class action settlements should be prepared to meet this higher threshold.
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