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Canadian Court Sides With Dell Against Class Actions

Posted by kdawson on from the one-less-big-stick dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Michael Geist reports that the Supreme Court of Canada has just issued a new online contracting decision that removes the ability for consumers to challenge mandatory arbitration clauses found in e-commerce contracts. (Decision is here.) The case involved a lawsuit against Dell Computer, which refused to sell hundreds of mistakenly priced computers purchased on their website. Dell tried to sidetrack a class action by claiming that all consumers were required to enter arbitration due to a clause buried in its contract via a hyperlink. Geist explains why the ruling may not be as unfavorable for Canadian consumers as it seems at first, in part because some provinces have already passed laws banning e-commerce sites from blocking class-action suits."

2 of 127 comments (clear)

  1. Quebec is Different by Hal+The+Computer · · Score: 5, Informative

    This decision is not very applicable to the rest of Canada because Quebec is a civil law jurisdiction (like Continental Europe and Louisiana). The court looks to the Civil Code of Quebec to decide the case.

    In the rest of the provinces, the court looks to the "common law", that is to say, rulings in previous cases. This is similar to England and most of the United States.

    If you read the supreme court's decision, it relies heavily on the Civil Code of Quebec.

    Of course, I am not a laywer and this is not legal advice. If you want advice, pay for it.

    --

    int main(void){int x=01232;while(malloc(x));return x;}
  2. Re:Good idea by HitekHobo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And where do you live where there is free speech and respect for individual liberty?
    As far from civilization as possible?
    --
    A couple of 30-somethings embark on the ultimate roadtrip