Can a self-represented litigant prosecute an action that had not yet been certified?
Ontario, Canada
The following excerpt is from Fantl v. Transamerica Life Canada, 2008 CanLII 17304 (ON SC):
See also Fenn v. Ontario, [2004] O.J. No. 2763 (S.C.J.), where a self-represented litigant was not allowed to prosecute an action that had been commenced under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 without a lawyer, notwithstanding that the action had not yet been certified. A lawyer for the representative plaintiff is one of the checks and balances in the design of the legislation that takes into account that absent class members are bound by the outcome of the proceedings, unless they opt out.
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