The class action, which claims Airbnb is not licensed to operate in Canada, was certified last year
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has declined to pause proceedings in a class action lawsuit against Airbnb while the company appeals a lower court decision to certify the case.
The lead plaintiff, Margot Ware, initiated the lawsuit in 2022 on behalf of consumers who used and paid for Airbnb’s rental services. According to Ware’s claim, Airbnb is not properly licensed to operate in Canada under legislation that regulates real estate, travel, and money services.
In December, the BC Supreme Court certified the class action suit and dismissed an application by Airbnb and Airbnb Canada Inc. that argued the BC courts lack jurisdiction over them.
The companies appealed both rulings and asked the appellate court to stay the case proceedings until their appeal has been decided. According to Airbnb and Airbnb Canada, allowing the class action to proceed while the appeal is pending would require them to participate in a costly discovery process that may prove unnecessary if they win the appeal.
The companies also argued that proceeding with the case would give the false impression that they have “attorned to the jurisdiction of the British Columbia courts.” The companies later adjusted this argument to state that they would suffer irreparable harm if third parties assumed that Airbnb and Airbnb Canada were subject to the BC court’s jurisdiction, since it could prompt those third parties to also take legal action against them in BC.
In its July 31 decision, which became publicly available on Thursday, the appellate court dismissed this argument, noting that there is a public record that Airbnb and Airbnb Canada dispute the BC courts’ jurisdiction. The appellate court said it could not envision “how the refusal of a stay creates any realistic risk that Airbnb Inc. and Airbnb Canada Inc. would be subject to further claims they would not otherwise have faced before judgment in this appeal is rendered.”
The court added, “The appellants’ hypothetical concern is entirely speculative.”
The court also tossed out the companies’ argument that they would suffer irreparable harm if they were forced to participate in the discovery process. The court noted that their discovery obligations before April 2026 – when the court will likely issue a ruling on the appeal – “can reasonably be anticipated to consist, at most, of the production of documents.”
While the court admitted that participating in discovery steps could inconvenience Airbnb and Airbnb Canada, that is outweighed by the inconvenience Ware would experience if discovery were halted entirely until the appeal was resolved.
Ware and other class members “are entitled to the fruits of their judgment, including an entitlement to have this matter proceed to trial as efficiently as possible,” the court said.
“A forced delay of up to nine months would cause prejudice to the presumptive entitlement of class members to proceed rather than to wait for the end of an appeal process that may or may not change the outcome.”
Counsel for the parties did not respond to a request for comment.
