Class Actions

CLASS ACTIONS CLOSED

Abihsira v. Stubhub Inc., 2019 QCCS 5659, n. 500-06-000754-158
Represented the defendant Ticketmaster in a consumer class action alleging that the defendants violated the Consumer Protection Act by charging a higher price than advertised for tickets. A settlement was reached before the certification stage.

Benabu v. Bell Canada et al, 2018 QCCS 2207 (upheld by 2019 QCCA 2174), n. 500-09-027644-186
Represented the defendant Vidéotron. The Court of Appeal upheld the Superior Court’s decision confirming that there was no arguable case that the defendants’ practices violated section 230 (c) of the Consumer Protection Act. The action was dismissed at the leave stage. On appeal, lead argument on behalf of the seven defendants (Vidéotron, Google, Apple, LinkedIn, Sirius XM, Bell Canada and Rogers) was conducted by Woods.

Buonamici v. Blockbuster Canada Co., 2004 CanLII 31532 (QC CS) (upheld by 2007 QCCA 468), n. 500-09-014994-040, 500-06-000149-019
Represented the defendant, the movie rental retailer Blockbuster. Successfully contested, on the merits, a class action alleging that late fees imposed by our client were improper. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, thus confirming our arguments.

Christian Barbeau and Marie-Eve Barbeau v. Cogeco Connexion Inc, 2020 QCCS 140, n. 500-06-000969-192
Represented the defendant, Cogeco Connexion, a major cable operator in Ontario and Quebec. This case involved (1) billing issues related to Internet, television and/or home phone services experienced by Cogeco Connexion Inc. customers since April 1, 2018, and (2) the deprivation of Internet, television and/or home phone services experienced by Cogeco Connexion Inc. customers or former customers since April 1, 2018. We were able to settle the matter out of court.

David Zouzout v. Canada Dry Mott’s Inc. and Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., 2022 QCCS 3873, n. 500-06-000968-194
Represented the defendants, Canada Dry Mott’s and Keurig Dr Pepper in a class action alleging that the labelling of Canada Dry’s ginger ale products includes a misleading representation as to the amount of ginger in the product. Similar class actions have been settled in British Columbia, Alberta and the United States. In Quebec, we challenged the authorization by coordinating our strategy with lawyers in several Canadian and US jurisdictions. We ultimately obtained a favourable settlement for the client.

Delaire v. SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., 2018 QCCS 4124, n. 500-06-000650-131
Represented one of the former officers of SNC-Lavalin in this class action, brought under the secondary market provisions of the Quebec Securities Act, against SNC-Lavalin and several of its current and former directors and officers. The defendant was alleged to have made false representations that inflated the price of SNC-Lavalin’s securities. The parties reached an out-of-court settlement, which was homologated by the Superior Court.

Érik Charest v. Dessau inc. et al, 2014 QCCS 1891 (affirmed on appeal 2014 QCCA 2052, application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court dismissed no. 36237, April 23, 2015), n. 500-06-000651-139
Represented the defendant Dessau, at the time one of the largest engineering firms in Canada, in a class action concerning alleged collusion in the construction sector. We successfully demonstrated that the plaintiff had not suffered any direct harm and therefore had no arguable case. The Court of Appeal upheld our arguments and the Supreme Court declined to hear the plaintiffs’ appeal.

Harvey v. Vidéotron et al, 2019 QCCS 2994 (affirmed by 2021 QCCA 1183), n. 550-06-000029-174
Represented the defendant Vidéotron in a class action alleging misrepresentation of discounts offered by wireless service providers and billing of allegedly inflated monthly fees. In dismissing the application for leave, the Superior Court upheld each of our arguments. The decision was upheld on appeal.

Mouvement d’éducation et de défense des actionnaires and Marc Lamoureux v. Société Financière Manuvie, 2017 QCCS 2300, n. 200-06-000117-096
Represented Manulife Financial in a class action alleging misconduct with respect to representations made in its continuous and periodic disclosure documents. This is one of the largest securities class action proceedings in Canada. We successfully narrowed the scope of the class action at the certification stage, won almost all interlocutory motions and ultimately settled the case out of court.

Myette v. Commission administrative des régimes de retraite et d’assurances (CARRA), 2010 QCCS 2797
Represented the plaintiff. We obtained a judgment ordering a Quebec parapublic organization, acting as a pension administrator, to pay substantial amounts in damages to 39 retirees following the dissemination of misleading information.

ONGOING CLASS ACTIONS

Bourassa v. Roxane Laboratories Inc., n. 500-06-001004-197
Representing the defendant Ethypharm Inc, a French pharmaceutical company, in a class action involving 34 defendants concerning the opioid crisis. The plaintiff alleges, among other things, misrepresentation of the risk of addiction posed by the drugs at issue. This is one of the largest and most complex class actions ever brought in Quebec.

Charles v. Boiron Canada Inc., n. 500-06-000609-129
Representing Boiron Canada Inc, a major manufacturer of homeopathic products, in a class action alleging false advertising of a homeopathic flu remedy.

Daniel Poulin v. Marriott International, Marriott Hotels of Canada and Starwood Canada ULC, n. 500-06-000957-189
Representing the plaintiff, who is seeking authorization to bring a class action against Marriott in relation to a data breach that occurred in late 2018. Similar class actions have been filed in Ontario and British Columbia.

Dumlao v. Fido Solutions Inc, Rogers, Bell Mobilty, Telus and Vidéotron, n. 755-06-000005-179
Representing Vidéotron in a class action alleging that telecommunications companies were charging consumers abusive fees to unlock their wireless devices.

Fortier v. Uber Canada, Uber Technologies, Uber B.V. and Rasier Operations,n. 500-06-000902-185
Representing the plaintiff in a class action against Uber in relation to the events of October 2016, during which personal information provided to Uber by users and drivers was made available to unauthorized persons, namely two hackers. Our clients’ application for leave to bring a class action was successful.

Jonassohn v. ZF TRW Automotive Holdings et al, n. 500-06000997-193
Representing four entities of ZF, a global leader in the automotive safety products market, in a class action alleging, among other things, failure to disclose a dangerous defect in airbag control units. Class actions concerning the same alleged defect have been filed in the US, Ontario and British Columbia.

Mouvement d’éducation et de défense des actionnaires v. Laurentian Bank of Canada et al, n. 500-06-001076-203
Representing an officer of the Laurentian Bank of Canada in a class action brought by the plaintiff on behalf of any person who acquired one or more securities of the Laurentian Bank of Canada, whether on the primary or secondary market, between May 18, 2017 and September 3, 2018, inclusive, and who still held all or part of these securities between December 5, 2017 and September 4, 2018, in order to obtain compensation for the loss of value of their shares resulting from the defendants’ failure to comply with their continuous disclosure obligations under securities legislation and their general duty of care.

Option consommateurs v. Société des loteries du Québec (Loto-Québec), n. 500-06-000822-169
Representing the defendant Loto-Québec in a class action brought by Option consommateurs and Mr. Denis Dagenais.

Robichaud v. Intrawest ULC, 2018 QCCS 1251, n. 500-06-000777-157
Representing the plaintiff in a class action against the Club Intrawest timeshare holiday system. The application for authorization to institute a class action made by our clients was granted.

Sopropharm & al v. Le Groupe Jean-Coutu (PJC) Inc, n. 500-06-000802-161
Representing the plaintiff in what is the first ever franchisor-franchisee class action in the province of Quebec. The defendant operates the largest network of pharmacies in the province and the plaintiffs are all owners of the approximately 400 pharmacies operating under the defendant’s banner. The class action seeks the reimbursement of more than $400M in undue royalties and the cancellation of various clauses in the franchise agreements that are contrary to public policy. Our clients’ application for leave to commence a class action was successful.