The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition Bell Mobility is liable to thousands of subscribers in Canada's North who were charged for 911 service on their cellphone bills but unable to dial the number in an emergency, a Northwest Territories judge has ruled. The Globe's Jeff Gray writes the wireless carrier faced a trial in March in Yellowknife in the case, the first class-action lawsuit to go to trial in the NWT. The first stage of the proceedings was meant to determine if the wireless carrier was liable; the amount it owes in damages is to be determined at a second stage of the trial. Lawyers for the plaintiffs initially estimated potential damages at between $1-million and $3-million. The lawsuit was filed in 2007. In his decision, Justice Ron Veal of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories ruled that Bell was liable, but denied a request for extra punitive damages in the case. Bell argued that it has charged various fees, or no 911 fees at all, in different contracts with its customers over time. It argues that 911 fees were simply meant to cover the costs of the network that would enable a 911 system, and that Bell is not responsible for whether municipalities decide to set up 911 services.