By Ahmad Hathout
MONTREAL – Quebec’s Court of Appeal has on Friday denied Bell’s request to appeal a ruling that authorized a class action against the company for alleged inappropriate door-to-door sales practices.
The lower class action certification court approved in July a class of plaintiffs to take Bell to court over allegations it violated the province’s Consumer Protection Act by instigating a service sales using a door-to-door salesman but concluding the contract over the phone.
Bell alleged that the evidence in front of the certification court meant that there was less than a simple possibility that the plaintiffs would win the case.
But the appeal court sided with the trial judge.
“Perhaps the hearing on the merits will make it possible to demonstrate that the respondent does not meet its burden of proof of the alleged facts and offenses; similarly, perhaps the hearing on the merits will make it possible to demonstrate that the composition of the group must be restricted and that certain types of contracts are not covered by the request for collective action: this is the aim of the defense and hearing on the merits,” the appeal court said.
“However, given the simple filtering role of the request for authorization and the even more restricted role of the judge responsible for authorizing appeals of judgments authorizing collective action, the applicant does not convince that the judge has, on the face of it judgment, erred in a manifest and decisive manner or committed a simple error of law,” it added.
Marie-Josee Langlois-Vinet filed an application in November 2021 to the Quebec Superior Court for certification of a class of plaintiffs after she alleged a Bell sales rep showed up to her door in February 2019 to sell her services but didn’t have a physical contract on them to provide to her.
Instead, the contract details were done over the phone with a remote representative, the original complaint said.
That practice, Langlois-Vinet argues, violates Quebec’s door-to-door sales law under the Consumer Protection Act, as representatives require a permit to sell services that were done on site.
The preliminary class includes any Quebec resident who was sold services by Bell from June 23, 2018.
