The Supreme Court of Canada has cleared the way for a class-action lawsuit against Air Canada and British Airways to proceed by dismissing an appeal by Canada’s largest airline.
Air Canada had sought to overturn an October 2017 Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that the class action could include foreign claimants despite playing out in Ontario courts.
The decade-old lawsuit from three companies alleges price fixing by major airlines involved in air freight shipping between 2000 and 2006.
Linda Visser, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, says they have reached settlements totalling more than $29 million with all 14 defendants except Air Canada and British Airways.
Visser says the lawsuit involves up to tens of thousands of class members, many of them exporters and freight forwarders that handle shipments ranging from flowers to zoo animals.
The plaintiffs are Ontario’s Airia Brands Inc., Britain’s Startech.Com Ltd. and Germany’s Quick Cargo Service.