TORONTO – The Bennett Jones Class Action Practice Group today released its annual report on class action activity over the past year and a look ahead.

The report represents a discussion and analysis of trends and likely developments in class actions in 2014. Some of the predictions in the report include:

• An increase in securities class actions regardless of the existence of separate regulatory investigations, proceedings and/or settlements;
• Canadian plaintiffs' counsel being cautious in pursuing global classes where parallel/overlapping proceedings exist;
• A flurry of activity by indirect purchasers in antitrust class actions, including certification motions and perhaps even new actions that were otherwise held back over the last few years;
• Appellate guidance on the certification of employment misclassification class actions;
• Employment class actions with an increased focus on provincially-regulated employers;
• A potential increase in the certification of medical device product liability class actions, along with broader class definitions;
• Third-party funding continuing to gain traction;
• Settlement negotiations that include increasing pressure from plaintiffs' counsel to include cy-près distributions to charities after settlements are administered, in lieu of reversionary defendant interests in unclaimed settlement funds; and
• Clarification respecting costs orders in certification and other pre-trial motions.

"This is intended to take what we have seen over the past year as a basis for discussions as to what might be in store for us in 2014", says Mike Eizenga, Partner and Head of the Bennett Jones Class Action Practice Group. "2013 was an active year for us and we don't see that pace changing", he adds.

The report can be found in its entirety at www.bennettjones.com/Publications/Guides/Looking_Forward

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