Class Actions Seeking Punitive Damages: The Pendulum Swings Back In Favour Of Defendants

On March 6, 2013, the Québec Court of Appeal in Montréal (Ville de) c. Biondi, 2013 QCCA 404 ("Biondi"), rendered a long-awaited decision in the field of class action lawsuits. The decision was based on an appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Québec that ordered the City of Montréal and one of its unions (the "Union") to pay damages to the members of a class resulting from the delay in de-icing roads and sidewalks in downtown Montréal, and ordering the liquidation of the class action members' individual claims. In its judgment, the Superior Court had, among other things, ordered the Union to pay $2,000,000 in punitive damages to the class members before the individual claims were liquidated, which involves a long and complex process that would likely result in a multitude of mini-trials.

The Court of Appeal unanimously overturned this part of the judgment and unanimously held that the liquidation of punitive damages was...