What is the evidentiary burden for each plaintiff to succeed in their sexual abuse claims?

There are no common questions of law or fact. To succeed in their claims the plaintiffs will each need to satisfy the evidentiary burden relating to three primary issues: 1. Were they sexually abused by the defendant; 2. Did the defendant have parental authority over them and was the defendant in a fiduciary relationship with them (Hodgkinson v. Simms, 1994 CanLII 70 (SCC), [1994] 3 S.C.R. 377 at pages 408-410); and, 3. Damages as a result of the sexual abuse. The damages that each plaintiff may have suffered as a result of the alleged sexual abuse will be unique to each plaintiff. Each plaintiff will need to call her own expert to testify. There is no common question of law or fact relating to these issues. Separate evidence for each question would need to be tendered by each plaintiff.