Can a motion judge withhold approval of a fee agreement?

In this case, the motion judge did not expressly state that he was disapproving the fee agreement. Section 32(4), however, does not require that a fee agreement be expressly disapproved before it applies. Section 32(4) applies whenever there is no approval of the fee agreement. This is made clear by the opening words of s. 32(4), which clearly state that the court's authority to determine the amount owing to class counsel in respect of fees and disbursements under that subsection arises "if an agreement is not approved by the court". Cullity J. put it well in Martin v. Barrett, [2008] O.J. No. 3813 (S.C.J.), at para. 35: "If the court withholds approval, it then has a discretion to determine the fee pursuant to section 32(4)(a)."