The Supreme Court of Canada released its ruling on Thursday regarding the class action lawsuit brought against the majority of Canada's cellular providers, and it wasn't one that will please those providers.
The Supreme Court ruled against the defendant's plea to have the lawsuit thrown out, meaning it will now be sent back to the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench for trial. The defendants listed in the lawsuit include major Canadian telecom companies Bell, Rogers, and Telus, as well as smaller providers including SaskTel and MTS Allstream.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of every Canadian cell phone user in the country (all 14 million of them) for misleading charges levied on them by the defendants in question, who charged monthly fees ranging from $6.95 to $8.95 per month under the guise of being taxes imposed on them by the Canadian government, or the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), when in fact no such tax existed. The majority of Canadian providers no longer charge that false fee.
In a statement released by Telus, they explained their reason for attempting to have the case thrown out was on the grounds that it was filed improperly, and that the suit itself was without merit (in their case).
The suit seeks to return the roughly $12 billion in fees erroneously paid over the years by Canadian cell phone users, as well as an additional $7 billion in interest charges. If that seems like a lot of interest, that's because the lawsuit was first launched in 2004, after which it took three years for a Saskatchewan court to certify it.
If victorious, the lawsuit would result in a return of approximately $1,357 per customer, though it's unclear at this stage how the affected customers would go about applying for a piece of the class action pie. The statement of claim declares that: "All residents of Canada who have purchased wireless services from any of the defendants since April 1, 1987" are eligible to take part in the lawsuit. Thirty thousand people have currently joined the case, being spearheaded by Tony Merchant of Merchant Law Group.
Anyone interested in more information or in joining the lawsuit can do so at the Merchant Law Group's website.
