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6/16/2008: Status of Class Action suit against Lotto-Quebec
Gambling with Science - Salon
Jean Brochu was a respectable attorney in Quebec with a wife and two kids. That was before he first punched the button on a video slot machine in 2000. Within 15 months, Brochu says he was losing $500 a day to the machines. He plunged headlong into debt, and lost his car and his house. He stole $50,000 from his union, and was consequently disbarred for three months. He claims that in several dark moments he contemplated suicide. He also says it was all the fault of those slot machines.
Now Brochu is the lead plaintiff in a massive class action lawsuit against Loto-Quebec, the government agency that runs all forms of gambling in the province. Brochu’s lawyer, Roger Garneau, says he filed the suit on behalf of the estimated 119,000 gambling addicts in Quebec province. Garneau says the slot machines dragged these citizens into addiction. “They have been conceived and constructed for trapping the mind,” he says. The suit asks for almost $700 million in damages.
…On the other side, lawyers for Loto-Quebec will base their argument on what also might seem a far-fetched notion: Casinos and slot machines aren’t the culprits — genetics and brain chemistry are. In essence, they’ll argue that the fault, dear gambler, lies not in our Stardust casinos, but in ourselves. In doing so, the industry will set up a rock-solid defense against troubling lawsuits and arm pro-casino legislators with scientific data.
Brochu c. Societe des loteries du Québec: from Elkind & Lipton Law Firm Toronto
In May 2002, a Quebec court authorized Canada’s first class-action lawsuit over problem gambling. The Quebec Superior Court ruled that a case against Loto-Québec, the provincial gaming corporation, may proceed to trial as a class action. The case, Brochu c. Societe des loteries du Québec, [2002] J.Q. No. 1062 (QL) is spearheaded by Jean Brochu, a disbarred lawyer, who claims he lost tens of thousands of dollars playing VLTs and stole $50,000 to cover his debts. The Quebec Court conferred upon the applicant Brochu, the status of representative to bring a class action on behalf of a group of individuals described as:
“All persons who, since June 1993, have become pathological gamblers through using video lottery machines supplied and maintained by the respondent in bars, beer parlors and other public places.”On behalf of these individuals, estimated to be 119,000 in number, Brochu seeks $700 million in damages.
The Court identified the following legal issues to be dealt with collectively:
1. each member of the group is a pathological gambler and is thus suffering from an illness;
2. each member of the group suffers from this illness as a result of the respondent’s (Loto-Québec) fault;
3. each member of the group has the right to damages which must be quantified;
4. as regards the civil liability of the respondent;
a. Does the respondent have the obligation to warn users of the risks of VLT’s?
b. If so, has the respondent fulfilled this obligation?The defendant in the above-named action is Loto-Québec. It is seeking to add 3 manufacturers of gaming equipment as intervenors in the case, as Loto-Québec’s position is that it does not make the equipment but merely houses it. It is seeking indemnification from the manufacturers of the gaming equipment.
The VLT game known as “Red Hot 7” has created this hotbed of legal issues.
Some very interesting questions stem from this lawsuit: What responsibility does the government have? Does the government have a prima facie duty of care towards users of its own service? (the customer or participant is undeniably a gambler). The government here is the sole legal provider of this service or activity, and it enforces its own enacted laws making it illegal for others to be providers. (The government even advertises the exclusive availability of its various forms of gambling to the general public).
Are there any valid policy reasons or considerations which justify a denial of liability? An important factor to consider in this context is that there are no other legal safeguards in place which address the problem of compulsive gambling.
The Brochu lawsuit will likely prompt similar cases in other provinces.
Before the Brochu lawsuit was commenced, problem gambling had received significant attention in Canada. Treatment and prevention programs were firmly in place in many provinces. As early as 1999, the provinces, combined, spent over $28 million on problem gambling treatment programs, clearly not disclaiming responsibility toward problem gamblers.
Administrator
September 2nd, 2008 at 6:52 am
I spent $50,000 during my gambling career and ended at Bellwood Health Services in Toronto for 66 days. This was two years ago. I found that I was totally addicted to these machines.
September 16th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
ive lost everything to those things i wanna be part of this class action suit if someone reads this plz email be how id be able to join on this i always wanted to get back at lotto quebec
September 17th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Hello P:
Not sure what province you are in. Contact Sol at Viva Consulting and he can direct you.
http://www.vivaconsulting.com/
September 20th, 2008 at 12:51 am
I understand there is a class action suit in the State of New York. Hopefully this will be the beginning of some positive action from the casinos.
Sincerely
Marilyn Lancelot