McCracken v. Canadian National Railway Company

McCracken v. Canadian National Railway Company

The certification order was set aside because the evidentiary record did not establish a core of commonality permitting a class-wide determination of misclassification of FLSs; the varied duties, titles and workplace contexts of class members meant misclassification could not be resolved without extensive individualized inquiries, and the motion judge erred in attempting to recast the core issue as one of 'minimum requirements' for manager status which did not cure the lack of commonality.

Citation
2012 ONCA 445
Parties
Plaintiff (appellant/respondent by Cross Appeal): Michael Ian McCracken; Defendant (respondent/appellant by Cross Appeal): Canadian National Railway Company
Court
Court of Appeal for Ontario
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
26 June 2012
Procedural Posture
Civil Class Action (employment/overtime) / Appeal From Certification and Rule 21 Motions
Outcome
Appeal allowed in part: certification order set aside; plaintiff's appeal dismissed; appeals from Rule 21 order dismissed.
Legal Topics
Misclassification, Overtime Pay, Canada Labour Code S.167(2), Certification, Common Issues, Preferable Procedure, Costs
Source Language
English
Employment Law Labour Law Class Actions Civil Procedure Misclassification Overtime Pay Canada Labour Code S.167(2) Certification +3 more

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Legal principles 5 Authorities cited 11 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 4
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Michael Ian McCracken

Plaintiff (appellant/respondent by Cross Appeal)

Canadian National Railway Company

Defendant (respondent/appellant by Cross Appeal)

Procedural Posture

Civil Class Action (employment/overtime) / Appeal From Certification and Rule 21 Motions

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether misclassification of First Line Supervisors (FLSs) as managerial employees is a certifiable common issue
  2. 2 Whether the motion judge applied an improper or new test for certification
  3. 3 Whether reframing the common issue to identify minimum managerial requirements was appropriate

Ratio Decidendi

The certification order was set aside because the evidentiary record did not establish a core of commonality permitting a class-wide determination of misclassification of FLSs; the varied duties, titles and workplace contexts of class members meant misclassification could not be resolved without extensive individualized inquiries, and the motion judge erred in attempting to recast the core issue as one of 'minimum requirements' for manager status which did not cure the lack of commonality.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed in part: certification order set aside; plaintiff's appeal dismissed; appeals from Rule 21 order dismissed.

Orders

  • Certification order set aside.
  • CN's appeal and cross-appeal from the certification order allowed.