Ontario Superior Court Awards Over $170 Million in Damages to Mutual Fund Investors in Landmark Class Action Decision

TORONTO, July 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 16, 2026, Justice Marcus Koehnen of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ordered CI Mutual Funds Inc. and AIC Limited to pay Class Members damages and interest in excess of $170 million.

The Market Timing class action, commenced in 2006, alleged that certain mutual fund managers permitted sophisticated offshore hedge fund investors to engage in frequent trading in their funds, that substantially diluted the investment of long-term investors, including retail unitholders, many of whom were retirees.

Rochon Genova has represented the long-term investors since the inception of this case, including before the Supreme Court of Canada, on appeal from an earlier certification motion.  The Supreme Court certified the case in 2013. A subsequent case management order divided the trial into two phases: a trial in respect of liability, and a subsequent trial in respect of damages. The liability trial was held in February, March and June 2022.

On February 13, 2023, Justice Koehnen issued reasons for judgment in respect of the liability trial.  Justice Koehnen found that both CI and AIC breached their duty of care to prevent "market timing" in their funds. The liability decision, indexed as Fischer v. IG Investment, 2023 ONSC 915, is available here.

The damages trial was heard before Justice Koehnen between March 28 and May 16, 2025. Closing submissions were heard on July 30, August 6 and August 7, 2025. In total, Class Counsel spent 41 days in trial on liability (24 days) and damages (17 days).On June 16, 2026, Justice Marcus Koehnen of the Superior Court of Justice issued reasons for judgment in respect of the damages trial.

The Court accepted the evidence of the Plaintiffs' expert, Professor Eric Zitzewitz, and determined that the "Next Day NAV method" of calculating damages was the appropriate methodology to use, as it measures the specific harm that the time zone arbitrage at issue caused, harm referred to as dilution.

Justice Koehnen determined that the "profits method", the method of calculating damages advocated for by CI's expert, was not appropriate as it "measures the wrong thing". The Court determined that on a balance of probabilities, the "prerequisites of using the profits method" had not been met.

Ultimately, with respect to CI, the Court awarded the Plaintiffs $60,480,000 in damages for the harm resulting from CI's failure to take appropriate steps to prevent market timing by certain Identified Accounts.

The Court also awarded the Plaintiffs damages caused by specific Additional Accounts at CI that were identified by the Plaintiffs' expert, Professor Zitzewitz, as having engaged in market timing that harmed the unit holders.

With respect to AIC, the Court awarded the Plaintiffs a total of $37,900,659 in damages, which includes damages caused by the Identified Accounts, and Additional Accounts at AIC that were identified by the Plaintiffs' expert as having engaged in market timing. 

The Court determined the Plaintiffs are also entitled to pre-judgment interest in the amount of 2.8% per annum, to be applied to the damages figures set out above, in addition to costs against both Defendants.

Peter Jervis, a senior partner at Rochon Genova who led the prosecution of this case, stated: "The damages decision sends a clear message that those who fail to safeguard investors from harmful market practices will be held accountable. That this result was achieved after two decades of hard-fought litigation, is a testament to the perseverance of the Representative Plaintiffs and Class Counsel, and to the strength of our judicial system in delivering access to justice in complex cases."

Joel Rochon, the Managing Partner of Rochon Genova added: "The decision is an important victory not only for the Class Members, but for the integrity of Canadian capital markets. Mutual funds are a cornerstone of the retirement savings of millions of everyday Canadians, and investors are entitled to expect that fund managers will protect them from practices that unfairly dilute the value of their investments."

The Plaintiffs in this action were represented by Peter Jervis, Joel Rochon, Sarah Fiddes and Jessica Marshall.

For further updates, please visit Rochon Genova's website here.

SOURCE Rochon Genova