Supreme Court of Canada Rules on Cellphone Services Contracts

The Supreme Court of Canada handed down a decision today in the case of Michelle Seidel  v. TELUS Communications Inc., 2011 SCC 15.  At issue is whether a plaintiff consumer can bring various causes of action, including those under consumer protection legislation, in a court of first instance via a class action proceeding or whether that proceeding is trumped by the operation of an arbitration clause and a class actions waiver in the governing cellphone services contract. 

Reasons for judgment are available in English and French.  A detailed analysis of this decision will appear in the IPilogue next week.