Class Actions Target Financial Institutions

Originally published in the Financial Services Litigation Bulletin Fall 2005

Undisclosed or excessive financing charges could get plaintiffs money for nothing, and their cheques for free

A significant number of class actions certified by Canadian courts in the last few years have targeted financial institutions. Many of these class actions attack fees and other charges, which the plaintiffs allege are hidden from customers, or constitute usury.

To date, financial institutions have had some success in defending such proceedings. For example, in Cassano v. Toronto-Dominion Bank, a VISA cardholder was unsuccessful in certifying a class action in which it was alleged that the defendant bank had charged unauthorized and undisclosed fees to VISA cardholders in respect of foreign currency transactions. The plaintiff objected to the fact that when the bank processed a foreign exchange transaction on a VISA card it used an exchange