Can punitive damages be awarded in a motor vehicle class action?

In Koubi v. Mazda Canada, the claim related to alleged defects in the door locks of a particular model of a motor vehicle. The plaintiff was seeking damages for mental distress and punitive damages on the basis that she and other class members suffered fear and upset at the prospect of their vehicles being broken into. Madam Justice Dardi refused to certify punitive damages as a common issue because the characterization of the defendants’ actions could not fairly be separated from a consideration of whether class members resided in communities with a high or low incidence of auto theft. She specifically qualified her holding by stating that “[t]here may be cases where at the common issues trial the court would be in a position to determine entitlement to punitive damages” (para. 157).