The Autorité des marché financiers says it is opposing a class action suit filed against it in the Norbourg matter.
In a news release, the AMF reports that a class action certification hearing began yesterday in Superior Court, concerning a suit filed by Francis Rosso on behalf of all reps who sold Norbourg, Evolution and Perfolio funds or are part of Tandem Wealth Management.
The AMF says that at the hearing it will be asking Judge Jean-Yves Lalonde to dismiss the motion for authorization of the class action. According to the AMF, the proposed class action does not meet any of the criteria required for authorization.
It argues that the group of representatives covered by the class action is in no way homogeneous and cannot be addressed as part of a class action because it includes:
- reps whose clients have not incurred a loss as a result of the conduct of the Norbourg Group;
- reps who took part, according to statements made in the course of other proceedings, in the offences alleged in the Norbourg matter; and
- reps who, in exchange for transferring clients, received money from the Norbourg Group totalling almost $4.8 million. It says that some of these reps would have therefore derived benefits at the expense of defrauded investors.
The AMF will also be arguing that the securities legislation creates no obligation on the part of the AMF toward reps, whereas reps have specific and clearly defined obligations toward their clients.
The AMF says its top priority in this affair is to maximize the amount of funds distributed to defrauded investors without delay. It adds that it wants Norbourg founder Vincent Lacroix and the other persons involved in this matter to account for their actions before the courts as soon as possible.