A First in Quebec: COVID-19 Class Action Authorization Refused

Litigation Partner Shaun E. Finn was interviewed by The Lawyer’s Daily on the Québec Superior Court’s first COVID-19 decision to dismiss a class-action at the authorization stage.

For the first time in Canada, a class action based on COVID-19 was dismissed at the authorization stage. The Superior Court of Québec ruled that the proposed class action against a ski resort operator did not disclose an arguable case.

“This decision is sending a message to the plaintiff’s bar that you have to provide the court with the minimal amount of evidence that is necessary for it to determine whether or not an arguable case has been made,” observed Shaun Finn, Co-leader of the class action defence group at BCF Business Law in Montreal and author of several books on class actions. “Another key thing to come out of the decision is that the mere fact that a service was not provided as a result of governmental actions taken in response to COVID-19 does not mean that it will provide you with an easy access to authorization.”