Prepaid Credit Card Class Action Remitted To Certification Judge

In Jiang v. Peoples Trust Company, the Court of Appeal allowed an appeal from a class certification order and remitted the matter for further consideration by the chambers judge.

The defendants are all issuers of general use prepaid cards, branded as VISA, American Express or MasterCard. All defendants charged various fees in relation to the purchase and use of the prepaid cards. The cards were acquired by purchasers for a variety of reasons, including for reasons other than personal use. Ms. Jiang purchased a prepaid card for personal use, and alleged that the prepaid cards infringe the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act ("BPCPA"). At certification, the chambers judge came to a final conclusion about whether the prepaid cards at issue were "prepaid purchase cards" within the meaning of the BPCPA, which, based on this analysis, led him to conclude there was a reasonable cause of action. On the issue of identifiable class, he concluded that it was