Telecom giant loses case to 'two guys from Yellowknife'
Supreme Court of Canada won't hear appeal from Bell after court ruling that said it couldn't charge for 9-1-1 services that didn't exist
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Friday, July 17, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
It is perhaps one of the most epic David versus Goliath court battles ever fought in the NWT. Eight years after the legal fight began, David - the little guy - has come out the victor.
James Anderson said victory is sweet after learning yesterday that the Supreme Court of Canada will not hear an appeal by Bell related to 9-1-1 service in the North. Anderson launched a class-action lawsuit against Bell in 2007 because the company was charging customers in the North for a non-existent 9-1-1 emergency phone service. - NNSL file photo |
Yellowknife resident James Anderson and his son Sam Anderson launched a class-action lawsuit against Bell Mobility in 2007, alleging the telecommunications giant was charging its customers in the territory as well as those in Nunavut and the Yukon for 9-1-1 services which it did not provide.
After losing the case at both the NWT Supreme Court level in 2013 as well as in the NWT Court of Appeal earlier this year, Bell appealed all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Yesterday morning, the highest court in the land handed down its decision not to hear Bell's challenge of the lower court ruling. The Supreme Court gave no reason for its decision, which is standard practice.
For years, although it is not entirely clear when the practice first started, Bell Mobility charged its customers in the North a monthly 75-cent, 9-1-1 connection fee while asserting it was up to local governments to establish, maintain and fund such services. Lawyers for Bell argued in court that Bell's customers were aware there was no 9-1-1 service in Yellowknife when they signed a contract with the corporation.
Customers across the North, except for Whitehorse where there is 9-1-1 service, have to call emergency services directly.
The only other exception are customers of Ice Wireless, which has a 9-1-1 call centre that directs calls to emergency services.
Bell deleted the 9-1-1 service charge in the North in 2009, but Anderson said he believes they rolled the charge into a flat service fee.
"Victory is sweet. It has been long and it really was David and Goliath, the largest telecommunications company in Canada versus two guys from Yellowknife," James Anderson said. "It's incidental to them. Why they fought it so long and hard - I can only speculate on the reasons. But it's justice after all this time."
According to Bell Mobility's figures provided to Yellowknifer by Anderson, an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 Bell customers across the North stand to benefit from the lawsuit.
In quashing Bell's appeal in January, NWT Court of Appeal Judge Jean Cote wrote that charging for 9-1-1 services where none exist is like charging a fee for milk and delivering empty bottles.
His written decision, which was unanimously agreed upon by Judges Neil Sharkey and Thomas W. Wakeling, was peppered with other colourful metaphors.
"It is like delivering to a starving person a photograph of a turkey dinner, and charging him or her for the turkey dinner," wrote Cote.
Damages yet to be determined
The court of appeal ruling followed an NWT Supreme Court decision in May of 2013 when Judge Ron Veale ruled in favour of the Andersons and their estimated $6 million lawsuit. He also ruled that Bell had to pay the Anderson's legal fees which now amount to $365,629. He did not impose any further financial penalty against Bell.
"We now know that Bell Mobility owes money, the question is how much?" said Sam Marr, the Anderson's Toronto lawyer. "We could agree on the amount, but if we can't agree on the amount then Justice Veale will have to decide that issue at another trial. We've estimated that the claim is worth between three and five million dollars."
The estimate from his side was that about 35,000 people were affected across the three territories, Marr said. He added that the legal expenses to be paid by Bell are now due, but said that amount will go up if the two sides have to go back to court.
Marr said this case is not necessarily all about the money.
"It's about righting a wrong. No individual could have possibly afforded to hire a lawyer to fight this case. No individual is going to be getting a huge amount of money," Marr said.
In fact, the Andersons stand to receive no more than any other Bell customer affected.
He said he is very pleased that the courts have vindicated their view that Bell was charging for a service it never delivered.
"We look forward to either resolving this matter or getting on to the damages phase of the trial to finally bring this to a conclusion and bring justice to the citizens of the North.
Because the actual amount of damages has yet to be finalized, it is not entirely clear how Bell Mobility customers who were charged for a fictitious 9-1-1 service will be reimbursed. It is Bell that has the information on the customers that were charged this fee, Anderson said.
In an e-mail to Yellowknifer yesterday, Jason Laszlo with Bell media relations stated: "We're disappointed with the decision and will now move forward with the next phase of the proceeding." He did not elaborate on what the next phase will be. Calls to the lawyer who headed up Bell's defence were not returned as of press time.
