Case information

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Civil procedure - Costs - Class action proceedings - Unsuccessful plaintiffs - Whether in determining the question of costs in a class proceeding, the court should presume no costs are payable, where the litigation involves a matter of public interest, raises a novel question of law, or represents a test case, or where the imposition of a costs award would run counter to the goals of class proceedings legislation, including improved access to justice.

The Applicant is mandated by the Legislature to administer a class proceedings fund which is used to provide financial support to class proceedings plaintiffs before and after certification proceedings. Ruffolo and Lepage were two unrelated, totally disabled adults with minor children who were selected as proposed representative plaintiffs and received financial support from the Applicant in a case concerning the insurance industry. Ruffolo and Lepage were both covered under group insurance policies with the Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (“Sun Life”), which provided them with long-term disability (“LTD”) benefits. They were also entitled to Canada Pension Plan (“CPP”) disability benefits for themselves and their dependent children. In accordance with the terms of the insurance policies with their former employers, Sun Life deducted from the LTD benefits payable to each insured the amount of benefits each received for their dependants under the CPP. Ruffolo was entitled to $2,222.33 in monthly long-term disability benefits. Sun Life offset its payments to him by the amounts of his primary CPP benefit of $682.66 per month and his secondary benefit of $226.28 per month for his two dependent children. Lepage received her full entitlement from Sun Life because she had failed to apply for her CPP benefits. Eventually, she received a large lump sum for her retroactive CPP award but did not remit this to Sun Life, as requested. As a result, Sun Life discontinued LTD payments to her until it had been reimbursed for the amount it had been entitled to offset. Ruffolo and Lepage sought a declaration that Sun Life was prohibited from deducting CPP child benefits pursuant to its group disability insurance policies, and damages. Sun Life counterclaimed against Lepage to recover the overpayment of long-term disability payments. In a pre-trial agreement, the case proceeded as a trial of the individual claims of Ruffolo and Lepage, with Sun Life agreeing that if the plaintiffs were successful, it would be bound by the result with respect to other insureds with identical policy language.