Rogers Wireless Inc. v. Muroff

Rogers Wireless Inc. v. Muroff, 2007 SCC 35 On July 13, 2007, the Supreme Court of Canada, in a decision identified by Lexpert magazine as the Top Business Case of 2007, refused to allow a class action case to proceed against Rogers Wireless, holding the plaintiff consumer to his contract by referring the matter to arbitration. Lexpert writes that "The court's most important finding may turn out to be that arbitration clauses can preclude class actions because class actions were not a substantive right but a procedural vehicle" and that the decision will likely significantly increase resort to arbitration as a remedy to manage class-action risk. The class action suit pertained to the billing of certain cell phone service charges. A motion to dismiss had been granted by the Superior Court (C.S. Montréal, no 500-06-000260-048, June 29, 2005). But an appeal was allowed by the Quebec Court of Appeal (C.A. Montréal, no 500-09-015854-052, January 31st, 2006). The Supreme Court of Canada reversed the Court of Appeal's decision and restored the Superior Court's judgment. Fasken Martineau successfully acted on behalf of Rogers Wireless in this matter with a team that included Eric Simard, Pierre Lefebvre and Isabelle Deschamps.