Unlu v. Air Canada 2015 BCSC 1453 aff’d 2017 BCCA 316.

Succeeded at trial and on the subsequent appeal for a defendant airline in certification proceedings

In Unlu v. Air Canada 2015 BCSC 1453 aff’d 2017 BCCA 316, Craig Dennis, K.C. and Owen James were successful in upholding, on appeal, the decision of the judge of first instance to deny certification of a class proceeding against an international airline. The underlying action sought to recoup amounts paid in respect of fuel surcharges in respect of international air travel that were described as a ‘tax’ on ticket receipts despite the charges being included by the airline.

The judge of first instance denied certification on the basis, among others, that the pleadings disclosed no cause of action, and that there were no common issues that could be efficiently decided in a class proceeding. The BC Court of Appeal, in dismissing the appeal, found that the pleadings did not completely articulate the plaintiffs’ cause of action, but conceivably could have, but that certification should be denied given that the plaintiffs had not identified a common issue appropriate to a class proceeding.