Supreme Court of Canada Denies Leave to Appeal in Securities Class Action Involving Foreign Exchange Transactions

Last week, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the plaintiff’s application for leave to appeal in Kaynes v. BP, PLC.

As previously discussed, the plaintiff’s claim was based on the decline in BP’s share price following the 2010 Deep Water Horizon oil spill. The vast majority of the proposed class members purchased their shares on either the New York Stock Exchange or London Stock Exchange. The Court of Appeal for Ontario held that the U.S. and U.K. were clearly more appropriate forums for the resolution of the claims of the foreign exchange purchasers, and declined its jurisdiction to hear them. In so doing, the Court of Appeal emphasized the principle of comity and the necessity of an “orderly and predictable regime” for the resolution of claims in the international securities market.

An unquestionably pragmatic decision on the facts, the Court of Appeal’s decision provides a framework for approaching claims in future securities class actions involving purchases on foreign exchanges.