Quebec Class Actions: Tide Turns In Favour Of Respondents

The tide is slowly turning in favour of a more balanced approach to the certification of class actions in Quebec with the January 17, 2006 Superior Court judgment in Piro v. Novopharm rendered by Justice Claudine Roy.

Under the amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) in effect since January 2003, a petitioner’s burden to provide evidence in support of a certification motion was substantially lessened, which resulted in a plethora of class actions founded on vague allegations of wrongdoing reported in the media or on the Internet. Justice Claudine Roy has made it clear in the Piro judgment that such a practice is no longer acceptable.

In a detailed judgment concerning a request by a consumer advocacy group to certify a class action against generic drug manufacturers on the basis of an alleged failure to reduce the price of generic drugs by the value of gifts and rebates granted to pharmacists, Justice Roy has confirmed that, despite the 2003 amendments, the principles