Royal Trust Corp. v. Fisherman et al.

This was the first major securities class action settlement in Canada, and was based on allegations of negligent misrepresentation under the common law and misrepresentation under section 130 of the Ontario Securities Act. The plaintiff shareholders had purchased their shares of YBM Magnex International Inc. (“YBM”) pursuant to a prospectus. The defendants were YBM’s former directors, officers, auditors, securities counsel and underwriters of the prospectus financing. The plaintiffs claimed that had the defendants acted competently and in accordance with their duties to the class members, the prospectus would not have been receipted by the Ontario Securities Commission, the class members would not have purchased their shares, and they would not have suffered a loss.; This class action also addressed whether a defendant’s right to a fair criminal trial in the United States (under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution) would be prejudiced by the Ontario proceedings.