The purpose of this book is to shed greater light on class actions in Quebec. What are they? Where did they come from? Where are they going? By examining these questions, readers will become better acquainted with the key strategic and procedural issues that they or their lawyers may be required to address. Class actions are changing the world. It is crucial that businesses and their boards, executives and counsel do not underestimate the transformative power of class action litigation.

New in this edition

Many developments have taken place since the first edition of this book. First, the National Assembly adopted a new Code of Civil Procedure, which emphasizes the importance of alternative dispute resolution, prompt and easy access to the judicial system, proportionality, and co-operation between parties.

The case law has also evolved considerably. The Québec Court of Appeal articulated an increasingly large and liberal approach to class actions in a corpus of decisions. It represents an important new phase in the case law, one that will make it increasingly difficult to have class actions dismissed at the authorization stage of the proceeding.