Did The Plaintiff Fabricate A Class Action Proceeding In Charland V. Hydro-Québec?

It is not every day in a class action that the Superior Court renders a decision on the merits of the case. Yet, not only is this the situation in Charland v. Hydro-Québec, the Superior Court also includes scathing criticisms against the plaintiff.

On May 29, 2018, Justice Steve J. Reimnitz dismissed the class action in which the plaintiff was claiming from the defendant, Hydro-Québec, the refund of "administration fees," which she had qualified as "interest" to be paid in addition to the 5% rate provided in the Interest Act (the IA). In support of her claims, the plaintiff unsuccessfully submitted to the Court numerous arguments.

In regard to the nature of the "administration fees," the Court decided in favour of the defendant by stating that these fees could not be considered as interest. In particular, the legislator adopted this consumer protection law in order to force the lender to reveal the annual rate contracted by the borrower. This case cannot be