Executive Summary: Key Legal and Evidentiary Issues

• International lis pendens between Quebec and British Columbia class actions over Indigo’s online parking service fees drives the suspension analysis.
• Application of articles 3137 and 3155(4) C.c.Q. frames when a Quebec court may stay its proceeding in favour of an out-of-province class action.
• Identity of parties, causes of action, facts and proposed class definitions between the Quebec and B.C. proceedings is central to justifying the stay.
• Protection of Quebec class members’ procedural and linguistic rights, including bilingual notice and French-language communications, is a key condition to suspension.
• Judicial economy and avoidance of duplicative, potentially conflicting class actions in different provinces underpin the court’s reliance on its inherent case management powers.
• The court assesses counsel’s cross-provincial coordination and reporting undertakings to ensure ongoing supervision and adequate representation of Quebec residents.

Facts of the case

Ho Chun commenced proposed class proceedings against Indigo Park Canada Inc. / Indigo Parc Canada inc. concerning additional service fees charged when consumers paid for parking using Indigo’s mobile applications, websites and QR codes. The putative class consists of all members worldwide who purchased Indigo parking services through these digital platforms and were charged extra service fees beyond the parking price itself. The core factual allegation is that Indigo imposed these additional fees across its online and QR code payment system for parking services, and that this systemic practice affected a broad group of users. Chun’s claim challenges the legitimacy of those extra charges and seeks collective redress for all affected customers, including residents of Quebec. On 9 January 2025, Chun filed an authorization (certification) application for a class proceeding in the Supreme Court of British Columbia (the B.C. proceeding, Court file S-250188). The very next day, on 10 January 2025, he filed a parallel application in the Superior Court of Quebec, Class Actions Chamber, in Montreal (the Quebec proceeding). Both actions target the same defendant, Indigo, and advance substantially the same theory of liability relating to the allegedly improper collection of service fees via Indigo’s online platforms. The Quebec case came before the Superior Court on a procedural motion by Chun himself, asking the court to suspend (stay) the Quebec authorization proceedings in favour of the earlier-filed B.C. class action. Indigo did not oppose this request.

Legal framework applied by the court

In deciding whether to suspend the Quebec proceeding, the court relied primarily on the rules of private international law and the special features of class action procedure. Article 3137 of the Civil Code of Québec empowers a Quebec court to stay a proceeding before it where another action between the same parties, based on the same facts and having the same object, is already pending before a foreign authority, provided that the foreign action may lead to a decision capable of recognition in Quebec. Article 3155(4) C.c.Q. complements this rule by preventing recognition of a foreign judgment where a similar action is pending in Quebec and the Quebec authority is first seized. Read together, they mean a Quebec action can only be suspended under article 3137 when the foreign (or out-of-province) proceeding was instituted first. The court also noted that ordinary lis pendens principles must be adapted in the class action context. Even if different representative plaintiffs are named, there can still be an identity of parties where the proposed classes overlap. Prior Court of Appeal jurisprudence recognizes that the focus in class proceedings is on the identity of the groups, causes of action and factual matrix, rather than the nominal identity of individual representatives. Beyond these codified rules, the court reaffirmed its inherent power under article 49 of the Code of Civil Procedure to manage proceedings, including suspending a class action or authorization application when the interests of Quebec class members and the sound administration of justice so require. This inherent jurisdiction allows a stay even where the strict conditions of international lis pendens are not all met, although in this case they were.

Overlap of the Quebec and British Columbia class proceedings

The judge found that the conditions for international lis pendens were fully satisfied between the Quebec and B.C. class actions. The proposed groups in both proceedings are identical; each seeks authorization or certification of a class action based on Indigo’s alleged responsibility for charging fees linked to its internet platform for parking payments. Both actions rest on the same underlying facts (Indigo’s service fee practices on its online platforms), pursue the same object (compensation or other relief for the additional fees charged), and assert the same or very similar causes of action. Importantly, the B.C. certification application was filed one day before the Quebec authorization application, so British Columbia was first seized of the class controversy. This sequence allowed the Quebec court to recognize that any eventual B.C. certification judgment could be recognized in Quebec and triggered the operation of article 3137 C.c.Q. favoring a stay of the later Quebec proceeding.

Considerations of judicial economy and member protection

The court emphasized that it is generally not in the interests of justice or the parties to have two parallel class actions based on the same facts unfold in different provinces. Parallel proceedings create a real risk of inconsistent judgments, impose increased litigation costs on the parties, and consume scarce judicial resources unnecessarily. Running mirrored class actions in Quebec and British Columbia could also confuse class members faced with multiple, overlapping notices and procedures. At the same time, a Quebec court must protect the rights and interests of Quebec residents when deciding to suspend its own class action. The judge therefore examined whether Quebec class members would remain adequately represented in the B.C. proceeding, would benefit from any favourable Quebec legislation where applicable, and would receive notices and important communications in French and in Quebec. Several factual assurances supported a positive conclusion. The lawyer acting for the Quebec group is also a member of the British Columbia bar and is collaborating with class counsel in the B.C. action to advance the litigation. Counsel in Quebec committed to maintaining a bilingual website dedicated to the Indigo class action to keep putative Quebec members informed of all significant developments in the B.C. case. The court further ordered that key notices, communications and important documents be made available in French, after consultation with Quebec class counsel. In addition, Quebec counsel undertook to provide semi-annual reports to the Superior Court on the status of the B.C. proceeding and to notify the court within 30 days of any significant development. These undertakings and conditions allowed the judge to conclude that suspending the Quebec case would not prejudice Quebec members and would, in fact, serve both their interests and the orderly administration of justice.

Absence of insurance or other policy wording issues

The decision is solely procedural and does not resolve the merits of the dispute about Indigo’s service fees. There is no discussion of insurance policy terms, contractual clauses, or specific tariff provisions governing the service fees beyond the general description that they were charged through Indigo’s online and QR payment platforms. The court did not interpret or analyze any written terms and conditions; instead, it focused entirely on where and how the collective litigation should proceed, not on liability or the lawfulness of the fees themselves.

Outcome and implications of the judgment

The Superior Court granted Chun’s motion and formally suspended the Quebec class action until 60 days after a final judgment on certification in the B.C. class proceeding S-250188. The suspension is subject to ongoing monitoring obligations and communication safeguards, including maintenance of the bilingual information website, provision of French-language notices and key documents, and regular status updates to the Quebec court. The court reserved the power to lift the suspension on request or on its own initiative if circumstances change. Indigo did not oppose the motion, and the judgment was rendered without any award of costs (“sans frais de justice”). In this procedural outcome, the successful party is the plaintiff, Ho Chun, whose request for a stay of the Quebec authorization proceedings in favour of the British Columbia class action was allowed. Because the decision deals only with case management and does not reach the merits of liability or damages, no monetary award, costs, or damages were ordered in favour of any party, and the total amount granted in this judgment is therefore zero.