Quebec court moves ahead with proposed class-action against Google

A Quebec Superior Court judge has rejected an application by Alphabet Inc.’s Google to dismiss, or alternatively stay, the proceedings of a proposed class action lawsuit which alleges that the company “is collecting personal information on individuals who use Google websites and third-party websites which integrate its tools” without obtaining sufficient consent. According to the Oct. 28 decision, Google argued that the class action lawsuit sought by the non-profit Option Consommateurs is redundant because there have already been two similar cases brought before the Quebec court, known as the Lima Action and the Homsy Action. “The application to stay/dismiss … aims to ensure that the services offered by Google that are targeted by the two actions will be excluded from the present proceedings in order to avoid any potential contradictory judgments,” Google argued, according to the court document. According to the Quebec Code of Civil Procedure, a litigant cannot multiply proceedings against the same defendant and make the same assertions. In response to Google’s application for dismissal, Option Consommateurs argued that there is no duplication of class members amongst the various actions, and that the allegations in the cases differ. It also noted to the court that its motion cannot be suspended in favor of the Lima Action because that action was suspended in 2019 in favor of a British Columbia class action. In addition, because Option Consommateurs filed its motion on June 22, 2020, before the Homsy Action was filed, it cannot be suspended because of the “first to file” rule, it argued. The proposed class-action members in the Option Consommateurs case would consist of Quebec residents “who has used a service offered by Google that does not require the creation of a Google account, such as Google Search or Google Maps, or who has browsed a website using one of the tools offered by Google such as Google Analytics, Google Ad Manager or the ‘Sign in with Google’ login button,” according to a translation. The court found that its class members overlap with those of the Lima Ation which included individuals who “used Google’s services through Google applications on a smartphone running Android or iOS.” However, the court ultimately ruled against Google’s application because it found that the allegations in each proposed case differed enough that they warranted their own class-actions. In the Lima Action it is alleged that “Google falsely represented that it did not collect location data”, whereas the Option Consommateurs’ proposed action alleges “that Google refuses or omits to obtain sufficient consent from class members.” Google also sought permission to add nine exhibits that “it deems necessary for the court to understand the allegations made.” It sought to submit French- and English-language extracts of Google Analytics’ Terms of Service, Privacy Disclosures Policy, and Upload Data Use Policy. It also sought to submit French- and English-language extracts of Google’s “clear, enable, and manage cookies in Chrome” section, as well as its “choose your privacy settings” section and “do not track" features. Option Consommateurs also opposed Google’s second motion to bring forward nine exhibits as evidence. “There is no factual context to them and they do not establish without debate the falsehood or improbability of the allegations of the nor do they complete, explain or clarify the allegations of the ,” the non-profit argued in response to the leave application. The court dismissed Google’s leave application to adduce the exhibits, noting that Google did not provide enough evidence to explain how the exhibits would apply to the case. -- Reporting by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca.

Quebec court moves ahead with proposed class-action against Google

News | November 2, 2021

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Quebec court moves ahead with proposed class-action against Google

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