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Stranded Highway 13 drivers prepare for long legal fight in Montreal

WATCH ABOVE: Drivers who were stranded on Highway 13 during the massive blizzard in Quebec have filed a class action lawsuit, saying they were let down because of bad communication between public officials. Global's Navneet Pall reports. -- Editor's Note: Marlene Berman told Global News that she is not represented by Jean-Marc Lacourcière. We continue to investigate this story – Mar 17, 2017

Drivers who were stuck overnight on Highway 13 during the intense blizzard that hit Quebec last week gathered Thursday.

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They met with lawyers handling one of two class-action lawsuits against the provincial government.

READ MORE: Massive pileup on Highway 13 strands hundreds of drivers overnight

About 100 people packed into the conference room at the Crowne Plaza on Côte-de-Liesse Road.

“This isn’t about money, it is about making sure that this doesn’t happen again,” explained Marlene Bergman, the plaintiff in the case led by lawyer Joey Zukran.

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard has already apologized for the incident, but those who spent the night on the road say it’s not enough.

“Confidence has been broken, and the blame game they’re playing is really immature. They are legislated to protect us,” said Bergman.

WATCH BELOW: Highway 13 pile-up

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Many at the meeting expressed their frustrations and concerns that it could happen again.

“I saw too many cars abandoned, the government was really lucky that no one got seriously hurt,” said Joe Randisi, who spent nine hours on Highway 13 on the night of the storm.

Highway 13 was closed between highway 20 and highway 40 due to the weather. Over 300 commuters were stranded in their vehicles overnight. March 15, 2017. File photo

Tracy Jacobs was stuck for six hours, but was eventually allowed on onto the 520 roadway.

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She said she still can’t believe how long it took for emergency crews to send help.

“You have people who have anxiety, heart problems, diabetes, and they didn’t have access to anything,” Jacobs said.

Thursday’s meeting gave lawyers a chance to gather evidence as drivers brought videos and pictures of their experiences.

The court still has to approve a class action lawsuit before it can move forward through the courts.

Zukran expects the process to take at least a year.

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