British Columbia Court Of Appeal De-Certifies Class Action—Was The Class Action Really Necessary?

On January 30, 2014, the British Columbia Court of Appeal de-certified a class action¹ alleging violations of both the British Columbia Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act² (the BPCPA) and the federal Competition Act.³ The court found that both pieces of legislation constitute complete codes, such that class members did not have the ability to bring tort or equitable claims alleging breaches of the legislation.

While certain aspects of the class members' claims remained after the tort and equitable claims were struck, the Court of Appeal went on to question the utility of the claims that remained and de-certified the class action, commenting that the sophisticated and scientifically supported regulatory system under the Food and Drugs Act⁴ (the FDA) had brought about the change in labeling sought. If the purpose of a class action is to redress "real injuries suffered by real people," the Court of Appeal noted it was worth asking whether anything might be