Novel Privacy Claims And The Limits Of Class Action Certification: RateMDs Inc. v. Bleuler, 2025 BCCA 329

On Sept. 22, 2025, the British Columbia Court of Appeal in RateMDs Inc. v. Bleuler, 2025 BCCA 329 issued its appeal decision setting aside the certification of a class action granted by the court below.¹ Central to its decision were the Court of Appeal's findings that the pleadings, which included a novel claim of violation of privacy, did not disclose a cause of action under the British Columbia Privacy Act.²

More broadly, this decision provides helpful commentary on how the torts of violation of privacy and unauthorized use of an individual's name — particularly in the context of online review platforms that publish unsolicited professional profiles and patient reviews — may or may not be pleaded within the parameters of current privacy law.