These are proposed class actions over the same conduct. None has been certified, and no claims can be filed.
Adobe Subscription Plan Proposed Class Action
Reviewed by Marty Mikhail, lawyer licensed by the Law Society of OntarioLast verified How we verify
What these lawsuits allege
The lawsuits allege that Adobe Inc. and Adobe Systems Canada Inc. enrolled customers in Annual Billed Monthly (ABM) software subscriptions without properly disclosing that the plans are one-year commitments, presenting them instead as monthly plans. They claim Adobe hid key terms such as automatic renewal and an early termination fee of half the fees remaining in the subscription year, and deliberately made cancelling difficult through a complex, obstructive process. The claims say this conduct breaks consumer protection and competition laws. These are allegations only, and nothing has been proved in court.
Who the proposed class would include
The lawsuits propose a class of people across Canada who were enrolled in an Annual Billed Monthly (ABM) subscription for an Adobe product and who either paid an early cancellation fee, or started the cancellation process but did not complete it and then paid the fee for the full year, whether because they refused to pay the early cancellation fee or because they faced prohibitive obstacles to cancelling. The Ontario case would cover residents of Canada outside Quebec, while a separate Quebec proceeding would cover Quebec residents.
Do I need to do anything right now?
Generally, no. A claims process opens only once a class action is certified and a settlement is approved. Class members are usually included automatically unless they opt out at that stage.
Follow this case
Leave your email and a short note goes out when something major happens in this case: the certification decision, a settlement, or the end of the proceeding, and a notice if a claims process ever opens. Nothing else.
What happens next
- Filed (completed)
- Certification
- Resolution
- Claims process
Both cases were recently filed and no court has decided whether they can go ahead as class actions. The Ontario case must first be certified, and the Quebec case must be authorized, steps that decide only whether the cases may proceed on behalf of a class, not who wins. These steps have not been scheduled, and timelines are uncertain and often run years. There is no claims process now, and one may never open unless the cases succeed or a settlement is later reached and approved.
Case background
Read more
Adobe sells software through subscriptions, including a plan called Annual Billed Monthly (ABM), which the lawsuits describe as billed each month while committing the customer to a full year. Two proposed class actions, one in Ontario and one in Quebec, allege that Adobe presented these plans as ordinary monthly subscriptions and did not clearly disclose the one-year commitment, the automatic renewal, or the early termination fee charged when a customer cancels partway through the year. The lawsuits also claim that Adobe designed its cancellation process to be deliberately complicated, using so-called dark patterns that discourage or block customers from cancelling. They point to similar concerns raised by regulators in the United States and the United Kingdom over the same practices. The plaintiffs seek refunds of subscription payments and cancellation fees, other damages, and court orders requiring clearer disclosure. None of the allegations has been tested or proved in court.
The proceedings
The court filings behind this proposed class action.
Ontario
F. Rehman v. Adobe Inc. and Adobe Systems Canada Inc.
FiledOntario Superior Court of Justice · CV-26-00103995-00CP
Filed
Filed by Consumer Law Group P.C.
Quebec
L. Hamel-Roy v. Adobe Inc. and Adobe Systems Canada Inc.
FiledSuperior Court of Quebec · 500-06-000027-264
Filed
Filed by Consumer Law Group Inc. (Quebec)
Who filed the lawsuits
- Consumer Law Group Inc. · Quebec
- Consumer Law Group P.C.
Common questions
Do I need to do anything right now?
No. The cases have only been filed and no court has certified or authorized them as class actions, so there is nothing to sign up for or claim at this stage.
Is there any money available now?
No. There is no settlement and no claims process, and nothing about the outcome is certain. The lawsuits seek refunds and damages, but a court would have to allow the cases to proceed and they would have to succeed or settle first.
Which case covers me?
The Ontario case proposes to cover people in Canada outside Quebec who were enrolled in an Adobe Annual Billed Monthly subscription and paid an early cancellation fee or faced obstacles cancelling, while the Quebec case proposes to cover Quebec residents in the same situation.
What has to happen before a claims process could open?
The Ontario court must certify the case and the Quebec court must authorize it, which only decides whether each case can proceed as a class action. After that, the cases would have to end in a judgment for the class or a settlement approved by the court before any claims process could exist.
How long could this take?
There is no way to know. Class actions often take years to move through certification or authorization and any trial or settlement, and these cases are at the very beginning.
Source documents
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These actions are proposed. Because none has been certified or authorized, none is yet officially a class action, and no claims can be filed. I'm following these proceedings and will add this case to the class action tracker if a claims process opens.