The Supreme Court of Canada is going to give a couple of mutual fund companies another chance to thwart a class action against them stemming from the 2005 market timing scandal.
The country’s top court has granted leave to appeal an Ontario appellate court decision to fund firms, AIC Ltd. and CI Mutual Funds Inc. Back in January, the Court of Appeal for Ontario denied the their appeal of a Divisional Court order certifying a class action suit against them.
Mutual fund class action is a go
The lawsuit stems from the market timing scandal that resulted in settlements with securities regulators that cost several fund companies more than $200 million back in 2005. The plaintiffs in the class action are seeking further damages from AIC and CI, claiming that they allowed market timing in some of their funds, which harmed investors. The original suit named five firms, but three of them have since settled.
In the appeal court hearing, the primary issue was whether a class action suit is the preferable procedure for the investors to try to recover damages from the fund companies, given that they have already repaid millions to the affected funds as part of a settlement with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).
The appeal court found that the OSC proceeding by itself didn’t provide investors with access to justice, and dismissed the firms’ appeal. Now, AIC and CI will have a second chance at the highest court in the land.