The Supreme Court of Canada has decline to hear an appeal of a ruling in a securities class action against Canadian Solar Inc.
The Kitchener, Ont.-based company is facing a potential class action on behalf of investors who allege it misstated its financial results in 2009. The case has not been certified as a class action and the allegations, which the company denies, have not been proven in court.
Lawyers for the company had requested leave from the Supreme Court to appeal an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that declared that Canadian Solar could be sued by investors in Ontario, despite the fact that it shares traded on the U.S. NASDAQ.
Bay Street lawyers were watching the case because it diverged from a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that banned securities class actions over share purchased on any foreign stock exchange.
Some say Canada's more open courts could become attractive to plaintiffs lawyers looking to file foreign securities class actions against multinationals with some sort of presence in Canada.