Farley J. Cohen

The representative plaintiff brought a class action against the defendants for charging illegal fees and imposing expiry dates on prepaid payment cards, alleging violations of the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 and O. Reg. 17/05.

The court found that the defendants' Single Load Prepaid (SLP) cards were 'open loop gift cards' subject to the legislation, while their General Purpose Reloadable (GPR) cards were exempt as financial products.

The court granted summary judgment for the SLP cardholders, awarding $15,330,000 in aggregate damages for unlawful fees and seized balances, plus $1,500,000 in punitive damages for the defendants' intentional disregard of consumer protection laws.

On an appeal from a Master's production order, the appellants challenged an order requiring disclosure of seven years of post-contract financial statements and tax returns relating to companies in which a non-party had an interest.

The court held that, given the pleadings alleging negligence and breach of fiduciary duty arising from advice leading to a marriage contract, the documents were relevant to the plaintiff's broad damages claim, including restitutionary assessment for breach of fiduciary duty.

The court rejected arguments that post-valuation records were irrelevant, that the order caused prejudice, or that disclosure should await a pending summary judgment motion.

The appeals were dismissed.