Who can be a Representative Plaintiff?

Despite the voluminous case law on certification of class actions under the Ontario Class Proceedings Act, 1992 ("CPA"), surprisingly little of it considers the qualities of an appropriate representative plaintiff. What emerges clearly, however, is that the threshold for appointing a suitable class representative has been set fairly low as courts apply the criteria listed in s. 5(1)(e) of the CPA.

Presented at Canadian Institute Conference, Litigating Class Actions, 2004