Settlement Vouchers: Turning court rulings into marketing tools? (in French only)

Author

Me Stéphanie Poulin

Organization

Option consommateurs

Published

2007

Summary

Since the middle of the 1970s, first in the United States, and then in Canada, several class action suits have been concluded by “voucher settlements,” so called because members receive a form of compensation similar to the coupons found in the circulars of large grocery or pharmacy chains. These generally give members the right to obtain a “discount” on the purchase price of one of the defendant’s goods (or services). This form of settlement, however, has attracted some very sharp criticism that has negative consequences for the credibility of class action suits in general. We therefore carried out a study in order to determine the problems caused by such settlements, to identify the advantages and disadvantages for the parties involved, to make an inventory of the major settlements reached in Canada and to develop a grid to help us to analyze them. There are four components to our study. First, we carried out research to acquaint ourselves with American and Canadian laws that apply to the settlement of class action suits and voucher settlements. Next, we carried out a review of the literature and held discussions with thirteen lawyers in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec who are active in the field of class action suits. Finally, on the basis of the analysis grid that we developed, we attempted to highlight the most interesting features of two voucher settlements that in 2005 concluded the class action suit against the furniture companies Easyhome and Meubles Leon.

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French only

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OCA Funded Research
This research received funding support through the Office of Consumer Affairs' Contributions Program.

Contact information

Source: Consumer Policy Research Database