A. Lassonde Inc. v. Sun Pac Foods Ltd.

A. Lassonde Inc. v. Sun Pac Foods Ltd.

The court examined each contested discovery question and ordered answers where the question sought information relevant to issues in the action (including relevance preserved despite an election of profits and relevance under Trade-marks Act s.12(2)), ordered production of licence/settlement agreements subject to the confidentiality order, denied answers where questions would cause undue hardship or were merely points of law at the root of the dispute, and extended the plaintiff's undertaking to the market for food services; compliance and filing deadlines were imposed and no costs were awarded because the outcome was divided.

Citation
2001 FCT 378
Parties
Plaintiff (cross Defendant): A. Lassonde Inc.; Defendant (cross Plaintiff): Sun Pac Foods Limited
Court
Federal Court
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
24 April 2001
Procedural Posture
Trademark Action / Motion to Resolve Objections at Examination for Discovery (pre Trial)
Outcome
Motion partly granted and partly dismissed; specific discovery questions ordered answered, others disallowed; deadlines and filing obligations imposed; no costs awarded.
Legal Topics
Trade Marks Act S.12(2), Examination for Discovery, Relevance and Scope of Discovery, Production of Documents, Confidentiality Orders, Undertakings
Source Language
English
Intellectual Property Civil Procedure Evidence Commercial Law Trade Marks Act S.12(2) Examination for Discovery Relevance and Scope of Discovery Production of Documents +2 more

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Parties

A. Lassonde Inc.

Plaintiff (cross Defendant)

Sun Pac Foods Limited

Defendant (cross Plaintiff)

Procedural Posture

Trademark Action / Motion to Resolve Objections at Examination for Discovery (pre Trial)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether specific examination for discovery questions must be answered
  2. 2 Relevance of evolution/development of a registered trade-mark under s.12(2)
  3. 3 Scope of document production including licence and settlement agreements

Ratio Decidendi

The court examined each contested discovery question and ordered answers where the question sought information relevant to issues in the action (including relevance preserved despite an election of profits and relevance under Trade-marks Act s.12(2)), ordered production of licence/settlement agreements subject to the confidentiality order, denied answers where questions would cause undue hardship or were merely points of law at the root of the dispute, and extended the plaintiff's undertaking to the market for food services; compliance and filing deadlines were imposed and no costs were awarded because the outcome was divided.

Court Disposition

Motion partly granted and partly dismissed; specific discovery questions ordered answered, others disallowed; deadlines and filing obligations imposed; no costs awarded.

Orders

  • Class 1: no questions to be answered
  • Class 2: questions 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 ordered answered