Schrager, Hamilton, Beaupré

Appeals from a judgment of the Superior Court dismissing applications for declinatory exceptions. Dismissed

The respondent wishes to bring a class action against several companies, including the two appellant groups, in connection with the direct or indirect purchase of “loot boxes” offered in video games. The appellants asked that the application for authorization to bring the class action against them be dismissed in respect of the claims of class members who do not reside in Quebec. The trial judge found that Quebec courts had jurisdiction under article 3148, paragraph 2, of the Civil Code of Québec (S.Q. 1991, c. 64) because the appellants have establishments in Quebec and the action relates to their activities in the province.

The applications for declinatory exception that were heard prior to the authorization of the class action should have been dismissed because they were unfounded in regard to the application for authorization and because they were premature. An application for declinatory exception made prior to authorization is premature if it concerns the class action or the individual claims of persons other than the applicant because, at that stage of the proceedings, the class action does not yet exist and persons other than the applicant are not yet members of the group.

The geographic scope of the class action may be addressed at the authorization hearing. There is no point in reducing the potential scope of the class action before that stage of proceedings.

In this case, the class definition and the jurisdiction issue must be decided by the Superior Court at the authorization hearing. Because the arguments on jurisdiction have been fully argued, the Court provides some guidance with respect to the merits of that issue: the trial judge correctly identified the relevant principles and no palpable and overriding error was made in their application.

Text of the decision: http://citoyens.soquij.qc.ca