Quebec’s business and legal community and consumer protection advocates are concerned over the impact of three related class action rulings by the Quebec Court of Appeal, with some fearing that motions seeking class action authorization will now be more easily granted while others are worried that consumers will pay the price following the court’s interpretation of what is included in the cost of credit.
In a series of complex and controversial rulings the Quebec Court of Appeal in part overturned a lower court’s ruling that ordered nine different financial institutions to pay damages amounting to almost $200 million for improperly disclosing (or not at all) and charging fees for currency conversions in credit card transactions under the Quebec Consumers Protection Act (Act).