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ARTICLE · 04 JANUARY 2016

Québec's New Code Of Civil Procedure – An Obstacle To National Class Actions?

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The new provision, article 577 of the NCCP, will require Québec courts to protect the rights and interests of Québec residents in multi-jurisdictional class actions when stays of proceedings are requested.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Ashley Paterson
Ashley Paterson
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General counsel and the class action bar should take note that a new provision in Québec's new Code of Civil Procedure (NCCP), which comes into force on January 1, 2016, may create an obstacle for streamlining—and ultimately resolving—multi-jurisdictional class actions in Canada.

The new provision, article 577 of the NCCP, will require Québec courts to protect the rights and interests of Québec residents in multi-jurisdictional class actions when stays of proceedings are requested.

It is common for plaintiff and defence counsel to seek a stay of proceedings in Québec to allow for a single national class action to proceed in another province (e.g., Ontario) when similar class actions have been commenced in multiple jurisdictions across Canada. Counsel seeking to litigate a national class action in only one jurisdiction are required to obtain stays because, unlike the United States' federal courts, there is no multidistrict litigation procedure for consolidation in

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