Director Bradley A. Heys, Associate Director Robert Patton, and Senior Analyst Jielei Mao have released their annual report reviewing securities class actions in Canada. “Trends in Canadian Securities Class Actions: 2019 Update” contains analysis based on NERA’s proprietary database of information on securities class actions in Canada. The report covers trends in the past year’s filings and considerations for 2020. Highlights include:

• Fourteen new securities class actions were filed in 2019—four more than in 2018 and the second highest number of filings historically.
• All the new filings of 2019 are Statutory Secondary Market cases, involving claims under the statutory secondary market civil liability provisions of the provincial securities acts. The number of such cases filed in 2019 was the highest since these acts first came into effect at the end of 2005.
• Five cases, making up 36% of new filings, involve companies in the cannabis industry.
• Twelve Canadian-domiciled companies were named as defendants in 14 US shareholder class actions filed in 2019. Eight of these companies operate in the cannabis industry.
• Only four securities class actions were settled in 2019—half as many as in 2018.
• Median settlement amounts continue to drop. The median settlement amount for cases settled between 2015 and 2019 was $6.4 million, 46% lower than cases settled between 2010 and 2014 and 64% lower than cases settled between 2006 and 2009.

Download the full report for more context and analysis. Readers interested in more information on the report or in NERA’s capabilities related to securities class actions are invited to contact the authors directly.