In LBP Holdings Ltd. v Hycroft Mining Corporation, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice denied the plaintiff’s motion to certify a class action in common law negligence and negligent misrepresentation against the underwriters involved in a Canadian public offering. Similarly to Section 12(a)(2) of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, Section 130(1)(b) of the Ontario Securities Act provides for a cause of action against underwriters. However, while the plaintiff in LBP timely filed a Section 130 action against the issuer, it failed to add the underwriters as defendants until after Section 130’s 180-day statute of limitations had lapsed. Thus, the plaintiff abandoned its statutory claim against the underwriters and sought to certify only common law claims for negligence and negligent misrepresentation against the underwriters, alongside Section 130 claims against the issuer.
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