Canadian securities class actions on an upward swing

According to this report, securities class actions have flat-lined in the US, but there is a significant upward trend in this kind of litigation in Canada, and US firms are taking notice. Compared to the US, the activity in Canada is still small, with just 15 securities class-action lawsuits filed last year, compared to 188 in the US. But there were 45 active cases in Canada as of the end of 2011, more than twice the number pending at the end of 2007 and more than four times the number active in 2000, indicating that the industry is on an upward swing. This article in the Wall Street Journal Blog points out that the growth in Canada began with a 2005 tweak to an Ontario law, imposing tougher disclosure requirements on Canadian companies and making it easier for investors to sue publicly traded Canadian companies.

Canadian securities class actions on an upward swing blogs.wsj.com Tue, Mar 6, 2012