A settlement in a $2.5-million class action for Dollarama customers has been shot down by a Quebec Superior Court judge.
Customers who bought batteries, electronic products, light bulbs or battery-powered toys from Dollarama, between May 29, 2021 and July 4, 2023, would have been eligible to make a claim of up to $15.
The national dollar store retailer, which sells everything from party supplies to gardening supplies, has seen an influx of inflation-wary Canadians, even after it launched a line of new $5 products in September 2023.
Dollarama’s quarterly earnings, released in April, showed the national chain had outperformed its American counterparts and the chain now has plans to expand to Mexico.
Why was there a Dollarama class action?
The plaintiff in the Dollarama lawsuit alleged that prices advertised and charged by national dollar-store chain did not include an “Ecofee” that was tacked on at checkout.
Dollarama customers who purchased products with an Ecofee are eligible for the settlement proposed in the class action.
Dollarama denies any liability and the company told The Canadian Press that the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing.
Claimants had to register with their email on the class action settlement’s website by April 5.
Anyone who purchased a Dollarama product with an Ecofee in Québec between Dec. 11, 2019 and July 4, 2023, and across the rest of the country, between May 29, 2021 and July 4, 2023, was eligible.
Claimants were eligible to get up to $15 in a Dollarama gift card as compensation, with the final amount depending on the number of claims.
The proposed $2.5 million settlement would have also covered $825,000 in legal fees for the class counsel and the settlement administrator’s fees.
Why did the Dollarama class action get rejected?
The judge in the Dollarama case rejected the settlement because the expected number of claimants would be high, leaving little in the way of compensation for each person, Joey Zukran, the lawyer for LPC Avocats representing the plaintiffs, explained.
The lawsuit now goes back to square one — but Zukran was careful to say, “the case itself wasn’t dismissed, but the settlement.”
“So we have a choice now — either one, to litigate, or two, to renegotiate,” but, he added, “no decision has been made.”
