Court Of Appeal Affirms Punitive Damages Must Be Proportionate To Gravity Of Breach

A recent decision by the Québec Court of Appeal in Vidéotron v Girard, 2018 QCCA 767 affirmed the award of compensatory and punitive damages against Vidéotron for overcharging consumers with fees related to the CRTC's Local Program Improvement Fund ("LPIF"). The Court upheld the Superior Court of Québec's finding that Vidéotron made false or misleading representations — a prohibited business practice under the Consumer Protection Act ("CPA"). The decision amended the interest allocation period and reduced the trial judge's award of punitive damages from $1,000,000 to $200,000.

Background

The respondent, Charles Girard, brought a class action against Vidéotron on behalf of subscribers who had paid LPIF fees imposed on video-on-demand rentals and cable packages. He alleged that these fees had not been disclosed and that they had been illegally billed or incorrectly calculated, thus constituting a prohibited business practice under the CPA. The Superior Court of Québec allowed the class action in part, finding that LPIF fees constituted fees payable under federal law within the meaning of s.227.1 of the CPA.

Vidéotron was ordered to pay compensatory damages of $3,267,581 for pay-per-view rentals and $3,152,042 for cable television packages, as well as $1,000,000 in punitive damages.

Court...

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