Author ORCID Identifier
Suzanne Chiodo: 0000-0002-9837-3942
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Certain class action practices have always fit uncomfortably within the traditional model of civil litigation, not least the payment of honoraria (“additional payments”) to representative plaintiffs. This subject has received little attention in Canada and elsewhere. However, recent decisions in Ontario and the United States have put a spotlight on this practice. These decisions raise crucial questions about the purpose of such payments and the purposes of class actions generally. This article considers the doctrinal and theoretical basis for additional payments, and whether they should be permitted at all. It then proposes a structure for the awarding of additional payments, based on the representative plaintiff’s time and expenses together with a trauma-informed approach. This article brings conceptual clarity to an overlooked area of class actions and provides practical guidance to judges and lawyers on whether and when additional payments should be made.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Citation Information
Chiodo, Suzanne.
"Tawdry or Honourable? Additional Payments to Representative Plaintiffs in Ontario and Beyond."
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
61.1 (2024)
: 273-318.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.60082/2817-5069.3982
https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohlj/vol61/iss1/6