June 2019 - Sotos Class Actions

Smoke & mirrors: Are vapes a safe alternative to cigarettes?

Vapes, or e-cigarettes, have long been sold as a safer alternative to cigarettes, or an easier way to quit smoking. As it turns out, doctors have found that they are about as harmful as the real thing. More specifically, the flavourings post risks for your heart. CBC News reports that Joseph Wu and a team […]

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Door-to-door Misrepresentations

Most people have had the experience of a pushy door-to-door sales representative who will not take ‘no’ for an answer.  Unfortunately, these sales tactics often result in homeowners being misled and pressured into signing contracts they don’t fully understand, for products that don’t perform as they were led to believe they would. Ontario has banned […]

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Weight Loss Woes: If it seems too good to be true…

A number of people have complained about a Toronto-based weight-loss scheme. The company, Weight Loss Grants, promised consumers money if they lost weight. According to Global News, the scheme offered to reimburse consumers for certain weight-loss expenses if they successfully met their goal on a certain date. The company directed participants to weight-loss services offered […]

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What are class actions?

What is a class action? A class action is a legal procedure in which one person brings a lawsuit on behalf of a group of people (the class) who have similar claims. The goal is to get justice for members of the class without each of them having to spend time, money and effort individually. […]

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When is a gift card not a gift card? Consumer protection law and “avoidance”

Anyone who knows me knows I have particularly strong view about small overcharges. I wrote an LLM thesis on the topic.[efn_note]”Keep The Change?: A behavioural approach to class action antipathy where losses are trivial” (2018) [pdf].[/efn_note] Here’s my thing: assuming companies deal with thousands or millions of customers, and assuming customers aren’t going to sue […]

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