A Pure Question Of Law May Be Decided By The Judge At The Authorization Stage

The Court of Appeal confirmed that a pure question of law may be decided by the judge at the authorization stage and ruled on the relative effect of a judgment authorizing a class action for settlement purposes covering only some of the defendants.

In a unanimous decision rendered on November 15, 2019, the Court of Appeal of Québec (the Court of Appeal) dismissed the appeal from the judgment of the Honourable Judge Stéphane Sansfaçon rendered on May 14, 2018, dismissing the application for authorization to bring a class action against the respondents, based on section 230(c) of the Consumer Protection Act.

The Court of Appeal, after recalling the limited power of intervention of a court of appeal at the authorization stage, based on the Supreme Court's findings in its recent decision L'Oratoire St-Joseph du Mont-Royal v. J.J., (2019 SCC 35), determined that the trial judge did not commit any error of law and that his judgment did not result from a