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Who Let the Dogs Out? Quebec Court Denies Dogs’ Representative Plaintiff Status — But Opens the Door to Deeper Questions

June 26, 2025 | Karine Bédard & Sara Ray Ramesh

Can dogs be representative plaintiffs? The Court says no (for now). In Lemieux c. Sanimax Lom inc., 2025 QCCS 371, the Superior Court of Quebec’s Chief Justice rejected an unconventional request: to allow four dachshunds to serve as parties and representative plaintiffs in a proposed environmental class action.

The plaintiffs had accused Sanimax LOM inc. et Sanimax EEI inc. (together, “Sanimax”), a rendering plant, of creating environmental nuisances affecting health and quality of life. They sought to amend their application for authorization to institute a class action to include the four dogs as impleaded parties, and even proposed them as representative plaintiffs for other dogs in the affected areas.

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