Courts take stricter approach in class action authorization stage

Many have taken notice of the courts’ stricter approach to class actions in the privacy realm these days, particularly where the claim lacks tangible harm. Montréal partner Christopher Richter told Lexpert that Bourbonnière v. Yahoo! Inc. is a good demonstration of that.

In this case, class action authorization was denied because the plaintiff was unable to demonstrate how the data breach caused harm beyond inconvenience or fear.

Read: Data breach class actions: No harm, no foul?

“This area is moving quickly,” Chris said, noting that two other privacy class actions have recently been authorized by the courts in Québec as they were able to identify actual harm. However, that might still not be enough.

“It remains to be seen whether such allegations of fact at the authorization stage will give plaintiffs anything more than a temporary procedural victory,” he added. 

You can read more about our Class Actions work on our practice page.

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