Several Quebec organizations receive leftover funds from Rogers $26M class-action lawsuit

A Quebec judge Tuesday decided the majority of the $7.2 million left over from a $26.8 million class action judgement paid by Rogers Communications Inc. will be distributed to a provincial organization that provides financial legal aid, with the remainder going to four non-profits. Fonds d'aide aux actions collectives (FAAC), which aids with class-action lawsuits, will receive almost $6.5 million, which represents 90 per cent of the leftover funds, according to translated Superior Court documents published Tuesday. The balance of the remainder -- which amounts to $721,897 after payments to the FAAC -- will be divided equally among l’Association québécoise de prévention du suicide, Tel-jeunes Foundation, United Way, and la Maison Dauphine, which helps youth aged 12 to 35. In 2012, petitioner Mario Brière instituted a class-action lawsuit against Rogers claiming its early cancellation fees were “abusive,” a violation of the Consumer Protection Act, and that the fees' “only purpose is to protect Rogers from a loss of profit” which it is not entitled to under Quebec law. In 2014, Justice Pierre Nollett ordered Rogers to reimburse its Quebec customers who used the mobile telephone or data transmission service and entered into a contract with the company between Feb. 2007, and June 2010 who subsequently cancelled their contracts and were invoiced an early cancellation fee as of Feb. 21, 2008. According to court documents, Rogers collected $35.5 million in cancellation fees from the class members, however, the total conviction amounted to approximately $26.8 million. In 2016, Rogers tried to appeal the decision but the company’s efforts were dismissed by the provincial court of appeal. Earlier this year, the court further granted Collectiva permission to target thousands more people -- through pre-approved texts and campaign material -- who may be eligible for damages. Collectiva believed there were an additional 80,000 affected customers that had not filed claims. Then in a June decision, Justice Martin F. Sheehan ruled that Collectiva may pay out an additional 11,000 complainants. Those who were compensated got $42.70, $102.86, or $327.91, depending on the service they had if they made a claim by the end of May 2021. In a September report Collectiva, the group handling the claims related to the lawsuit, submitted to the court that 89,789 members received compensation, and that after payment of the attorneys' fees there will be a $7.2 million balance left over. “The lawyers of the record and the claims administrator believe that additional efforts would not increase the claim rate,” according to Tuesday’s court documents. The FAAC argued to the court that it should receive the majority of the leftover funds because, according to regulations respecting the FAAC, the organization may collect 90 per cent on any balance greater than $500,000. “The objective is to provide for the self-financing of the FAAC in order to better accomplish its mission to ensure the financing of collective actions. It does not belong to courts to review the percentages provided for in the Regulation to achieve the objectives pursued by the legislator. Thus, the requested payment is confirmed,” Judge Sheehan wrote in the decision. According to Quebec law, any remaining amount can be distributed to third-party beneficiaries that are in the members’ interest. Sheehan noted in his decision that “the tribunal has a large discretion as much in the allocation of amounts as in the choice of organizations beneficiaries.” “Some suggest favoring organizations that work in sectors related to issues experienced by members or organizations that share the same objectives. For example, in an action targeting communication services,” he wrote in his decision. Collectiva has until Feb. 14, 2022 to determine and report the exact amount left in the funds before it distributes the money. -- Reporting by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca.

Several Quebec organizations receive leftover funds from Rogers $26M class-action lawsuit

News | October 8, 2021

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Several Quebec organizations receive leftover funds from Rogers $26M class-action lawsuit

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