Quebec Superior Court judge authorizes QMJHL hazing class-action lawsuit

Quebec Superior Court has authorized a class-action lawsuit against the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League and its teams over alleged hazing abuse.

Justice Jacques G. Bouchard gave the suit the green light in a decision published today, after hearing arguments last month in Quebec City.

The lawsuit of more than $15 million was filed last April by Carl Latulippe, a former Quebec minor hockey star who went public with alleged abuse suffered while playing for two teams in the mid-1990s.

It targets the league, its member franchises and its umbrella organization — the Canadian Hockey League — and seeks $650,000 for the plaintiff in damages, including pain, suffering and humiliation, as well as lost productivity and therapy costs.

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Another $15 million would be shared among other alleged victims.

Those covered in the class action are “all hockey players who have experienced abuse while they were minors and playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League” since July 1, 1969.