2011 QCCQ 2402, 2011 QCCQ 2402

Belorusskaya c. Câble VDN 2011 QCCQ 2402 COURT OF QUEBEC Small Claims Division CANADA PROVINCE OF QUEBEC DISTRICT OF MONTREAL TOWN OF MONTREAL Civil Division No: 500-32-120663-093 DATE: February 15, 2011 ______________________________________________________________________ BY THE HONOURABLE SUZANNE HANDMAN, J.C.Q. ______________________________________________________________________ ROZALIE BELORUSSKAYA […] Côte St-Luc (Québec) […] Plaintiff v.

CÂBLE VDN 2600 Ontario Est, bureau 206 Montréal (Québec) H2K 4K4 Defendant ______________________________________________________________________ JUDGMENT ______________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ] Rozalie Belorusskaya is suing Câble VDN (VDN), trademark of Bell Canada, for $600, alleging that the equipment she purchased is useless, after VDN cancelled the Russian channels. VDN denies liability. The evidence: [ 2 ] Mrs. Belorusskaya purchased equipment from VDN, in April 2006, which allowed her to obtain Russian language channels. [ 3 ] According to Mrs.

Belorusskaya, the manager of her building suggested that she obtain cable service from VDN. She contacted the company, which offered her the possibility of renting the service for a fee of $5 per month or buying the equipment, after which there was no monthly fee. [ 4 ] Mrs. Belorusskaya maintains that VDN advised her that in the long run, it would be less costly to purchase the equipment rather than rent. Mrs. Belorusskaya asked the advise of a friend who believed that it was preferable to buy the equipment. Mrs.

Belorusskaya decided to purchase the communication “boxes” rather than rent them from VDN. [ 5 ] On November 12, 2009, VDN sent its subscribers a letter advising them that channel RTVI ceased its broadcast, which required VDN to remove from its lineup channels RTVI and HTB Canada as of December 31, 2009. These two channels had broadcast in the Russian language. [ 6 ] Mrs. Belorusskaya bought the equipment with the sole purpose of being able to watch Russian broadcasts.

She reproaches VDN for advising her to buy the equipment since it is no longer offering the service of Russian programs and seeks the reimbursement of the money she paid. [ 7 ] VDN refuses to take back its equipment, which is more than three years old. In addition, it submits that its sale was final and the equipment can be used for all other programming that it offers. Analysis:

[ 8 ] Mrs. Belorusskaya decided to purchase equipment from VDN in 2006 in order to access Russian programming. Unfortunately, the company which broadcast the programs in question ceased its broadcasting. As a result, VDN as well as every other cable supplier was unable to provide the Russian broadcasting channels, namely RTVI and HTB Canada. VDN has no control over the situation that occurred. [ 9 ] Mrs. Belorusskaya blames VDN for advising her to buy the equipment, which now has no usefulness for her. She maintains she could have simply rented the equipment.

This would have been less costly. [ 10 ] However, she was not obliged to buy the equipment; VDN did not force her to do so. Mrs. Belorusskaya followed the advice of a friend who suggested that she purchase the product and not rent it, since it would cost less after approximately 8 years. [ 11 ] She made a decision that appeared to be appropriate at the time. The situation changed and she is no longer satisfied with the decision she made several years ago.

However, VDN is not responsible for her decision. [ 12 ] Moreover, VDN's conditions governing residential service foresee that Câble VDN can modify the composition of its services with a 30 day prior notice. In addition, according to the conditions of service, the sale of equipment is final. [ 13 ] While the Court sympathizes with Mrs. Belorusskaya for the situation she is in, for the reasons explained above, the Court cannot grant the remedy she is seeking. The Court has discretion with respect to awarding costs and given the representations of Mrs. Belorusskaya, no costs are granted.

FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT: DISMISSES the action of Rozalie Belorusskaya, without costs. __________________________________ SUZANNE HANDMAN, J.C.Q. Date of hearing: January 24, 2011