Canadian Lawyer

8 J U N E 2 0 1 5 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m O n Jan. 14, there was a diesel fuel spill at a water pumping station in Longueuil, just outside Mon- treal. A tap-water ban was issued, affecting close to 300,000 residents. An atmosphere of crisis reigned over the municipality, with multiple bottled water distribution centres being set up, but which, at least initially, couldn't deliver all the water needed. The ban lasted about 48 hours. On Jan. 19, a motion to authorize a class action was filed by lawyer Jacky Éric Salvant for his client, Longueuil resident Robert Ouimet. They claim the city waited much too long before it issued the ban, thus creating stress and exposing the population's health to great risk. The action claims damages of $100 per resi- dent, totalling roughly $29 million. When Yves Thériault, a television producer who lives in Longueuil, heard this on the radio, he thought the lawsuit didn't make sense: it was basically the citizens of Longueuil suing themselves, he thought. If the class action was suc- cessful, the city would have to raise taxes to pay the award. He asked the lawyer to drop the case, to no avail. With his wife, he created an organiza- tion called "Recours Imbuvable" (Undrink- able Action), and set up a Facebook page and web site to raise awareness and some cash to help pay for the legal fees incurred since he filed the papers to oppose the class action. The fundraising effort is minimal, says his lawyer, Marie-Hélène Beaudoin, who took the case pro bono. "The whole point is to avoid spending money," she told Canadian Lawyer. As far as she knows, it is the first time in Quebec a class action member has tried to intervene directly to oppose that action. Previous cases involved members who challenged the status of the represen- tative or the homogeneity of the group. Beaudoin will challenge the constitu- tionality of s. 1017 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which allows a member to intervene only to support the action. She will plead that it breaches free speech, in violation of both provincial and federal charters of rights. If the court allows the intervention at this preliminary stage and ultimately rejects the action, it will not be necessary to settle the constitutional question for it will have become theoreti- cal, she says. — PASCAL ELIE pascalelie636@gmail.com But we're suing ourselves . . . \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ P R A I R I E S \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP AWARDING INNOVATION T he Barreau du Québec has awarded its Mérite Innovation 2015 to the Laboratoire de cyberjustice for its contribution to improve administra- tion of justice and access. The Laboratoire is a research body created in 2010 by Université de Montréal's law professor Karim Benyekhlef and McGill's law professor Fabien Gélinas. Its mission is to create new models and new processes in the field of administration of justice via technology. For example, its online dispute resolution platform analyzes how new tech- nologies could lower low-intensity conflicts' costs and delays. Its courtroom interface software can link all participants to a trial (judges, lawyers, and parties) in a network that allows them to access, through a mobile device (tablet or phone), legal files and evidence display. It also allows control of sound and image. The Laboratoire's research infrastructure includes a high-tech courtroom, a computer lab, videoconference equipment, a server lab where software mod- ules are developed, and a mobile courtroom for the study of telecommunica- tion in a legal context. — PE It's time to rank… THE TOP 10 ONTARIO REGIONAL LAW FIRMS Complete the survey online at canadianlawyermag.com/surveys and make your picks. SURVEY IS OPEN UNTIL JUNE 29TH Untitled-1 1 2015-05-14 1:56 PM

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