This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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Top Aboriginal Law and Energy lawyer joins Lavery, de Billy
Montreal, September 10, 2008 – Lavery, de Billy is pleased to announce that Ann Bigué has joined the firm as a partner and a member of its Environment, Energy and Natural Resources law team.Her practice focuses on administrative, constitutional and regulatory law, with an emphasis on matters related to natural resources, energy and aboriginal rights. Prior to joining Lavery, de Billy, she practiced at McCarthy Tétrault for more than 25 years.Ann is frequently called upon by corporate clients to deal with issues relating to aboriginal and treaty rights in connection with energy and natural resources development projects. She has assumed leadership in complex litigation matters relating to aboriginal rights in the context of hydroelectric and forestry development projects in Quebec. She also has extensive experience in the development and realization of Canadian energy, mining and industrial projects as well as in forestry development activities.She is recognized in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as a leading lawyer in the field of aboriginal law. She is also named in the Best Lawyers in Canada directory as a leading lawyer in the area of regulatory matters relating to energy.Ann is a governor of the Association Pipeline Longitude 75o. She is a member of the U.S. Energy Bar Association, the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association, the Canadian Aboriginal Minerals Association, the Association québécoise pour l’évaluation d’impacts and the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation.She is also member of the National Council and of the Quebec Branch Council of the Canadian Bar Association and a past member of the Executive Committee of the Quebec Division. Over the years, she has represented the Barreau du Québec on the Federal Judicial Advisory Committee for Québec (Québec-West).
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Four business law attorneys join Lavery, de Billy
The law firm of Lavery, de Billy is pleased to announce that four new lawyers, Nicolas Dufresne, Catherine Rioux, Valérie Martin and Louis-Philippe La Rocque, have joined its Business Law Group. Nicolas Dufresne, specializing in commercial law, was called to the Quebec Bar in 2000. He has a Bachelor of Law Degree (LL.B.) from the Université du Québec à Montréal and a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from Concordia University. In addition to corporate financing and the taking of security, which form the cornerstone of his practice, he has related experience in corporate restructuring, intellectual property and real estate. Catherine Rioux has been a member of the Quebec Bar since 2005 and earned her Bachelor of Law Degree (LL.B.) from the Université de Montréal. Most of her practice centers on mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts and corporate reorganizations. Valérie Martin has been a member of the Quebec Bar since 2004 and earned her Bachelor of Law Degree (LL.B.) from the Université de Montréal. She joins the Financing Group. She also brings experience in commercial leases, mortgage documentation and commercial contracts of every kind. Louis-Philippe La Rocque was called to the Quebec Bar in 2008 and has a Bachelor of Law Degree (LL.B.) from the Université de Montréal and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University. A member of the Business Law Group, developing his practice primarily in the areas of commercial transactions and mergers and acquisitions.
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Lavery, de Billy has two new Avocats émérites (Ad.E.)
The law firm of Lavery, de Billy is pleased to announce that lawyers Raymond Doray and Louis Payette have been named Avocats émérites (Ad.E.) following a decision by the General Council of the Bar of Quebec. The title of Avocat émérite was created in 2007 to recognize the exceptional contribution of certain lawyers to the advancement of the profession or the work of the Bar. Raymond Doray heads the information law practice and, more particularly, is involved in issues pertaining to access to information, privacy and defamation, as well as the application of the Canadian and Quebec charters of rights and freedoms. He also specializes in administrative and constitutional law. He represents several public and private corporations as well as media organizations in matters relating to the confidentiality of documents, the validity of certain government decisions and the right to one’s reputation and privacy. He is legal counsel for a number of major corporations, professional orders, public bodies and media organizations in matters relating to administrative and constitutional law. In 2002, Mr. Doray published a 2,000-page treatise on access to information rights and the protection of personal information with Éditions Yvon Blais/Carswell and wrote a chapter of the book entitled Droit du commerce électronique published by Les Éditions Thémis. On June 1st, 2004, he was awarded the Quebec Bar Foundation's Prix Répertoire for his book Accès à l'information – Loi annotée, jurisprudence, analyse, commentaires. He is also the author of the chapters on professional confidentiality and conflicts of interest in a guide published by the Quebec Bar of which he is the Vice-President. Mr. Doray is listed in The Canadian Legal LEXPERT® Directory in the field of public law litigation. Louis Payette practises commercial law, particularly in the areas of secured transactions (mortgage financing, equipment financing, structured finance) and loan syndications, real estate trusts and other commercial trusts, and implementation of securitization programs in Quebec for pools of loans and receivables. In recent years, he served on the Canadian delegation to the Organization of American States in connection with the preparation of a model Personal Property Security Act for the Latin American states and recently participated in the implementation of mortgage financing programs in countries in Africa and Eastern Europe. Mr. Payette taught at the Faculty of Law of the Université de Montréal for many years and prepared the proficiency course on the subject of several transactions for judges and legal practitioners in Quebec in connection with the coming into force of the Quebec Civil Code in 1994. These courses resulted in the publication of a book entitled Les sûretés réelles dans le Code civil du Québec (Walter Owen Book Prize 1996 and 2002) which is now in its third edition and is a reference book widely used by both practitioners and all levels of courts The Lexpert/American Lawyer Media Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada and The Best Lawyers in Canada list Mr. Payette as a leading practitioner in the field of banking law. In 2007, he received the Canadian Bar Association’s Paul André Crépeau Medal awarded to a jurist who has contributed to the advancement of the international aspects of private law and commercial law in Canada. The firm already had five Avocats émérites—attorneys Odette Jobin-Laberge, Pierre Bourque, J.-Vincent O’Donnell, Jean Saint-Onge and Michel Yergeau.
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Canadian Royalties conclut son financement de 137 500 000 $
On March 18, 2008, Canadian Royalties Inc. completed a short form prospectus offering of $137,500,000 aggregate principal amount of convertible senior unsecured debentures due March 31, 2015, including the exercise of the over-allotment option of $12,500,000 aggregate principal amount of debentures granted to the syndicate of underwriters led by BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. and including Raymond James Ltd and Desjardins Securities Inc.Canadian Royalties Inc. was represented by in-house counsel Luciana Zanella who was assisted by Lavery, de Billy, with a team composed of Sébastien Vézina, Josianne Beaudry, David Pineault, Benoît Mallette and Michèle Gamache (Translation).
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Sale of all of the shares of SNF Inc.
After more than six months of negotiations, Mtre. Marc Talbot has brought to a successful conclusion a major transaction involving the sale of all of the shares of SNF Inc. and 16 of its subsidiaries. Ms. Sonia Guérin assisted him in this matter.Although it has not yet given its opinion on the transaction and its terms, the Competition Bureau has authorized the closing of the transaction further to an out-of-court agreement reached in the context of injunction proceedings filed by the Commissioner to prevent the finalization of the sale. This will be published in the April edition of Lexpert magazine.
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Class action and competition law: Toyota wins in the Court of Appeal
For the first time, the Court of Appeal has rendered a decision on a class action instituted under the Competition Act. A unanimous decision in favour of our client, Toyota Canada Inc. and 37 of its dealers in the Montreal region, was handed down on February 26, 2008.It is not enough to establish the appearance of an infringement of the Competition Act to be authorized to institute a class action.The class action was instituted by the Petitioner, André Harmegnies, who claimed that the “Access Toyota” program set up by Toyota Canada Inc. breached the Competition Act (the “Act”). More specifically, he alleged that the program breached the Act in that Toyota and its dealers unduly restricted competition and artificially inflated the price of vehicles. The Court of Appeal unanimously confirmed the judgment rendered by the Honourable Justice Hélène Poulin of the Quebec Superior Court on February 12, 2007, who had refused to authorize the class action.The Court of Appeal began by pointing out that, at the authorization stage, the judge has a certain discretionary power in assessing the conditions necessary to bring a class action. It also held that it is well established that the judge’s discretion should be respected and the Court of Appeal will only intervene if that discretion is manifestly unfounded or the analysis underlying it contains an error of law.Furthermore, with respect to the appearance of right, the Court of Appeal was of the opinion that the Petitioner did not show that the 37,000 members of the group had suffered damages. On the contrary, the allegations, which had to be assumed to be true, were only based on hearsay and vague and imprecise impressions. Accordingly, the Petitioner was unable to demonstrate that he or the members of the group had suffered a loss. The Court of Appeal held that it is not sufficient to allege that there is automatically damages because of an alleged breach of the law.The Court of Appeal also held that a class action is not the appropriate way to punish a person who breaches the law, but rather, it is a vehicle which can be used to compensate a group of people who have suffered real losses in common.With respect to the issue of common questions, the Court of Appeal confirmed that, even if we accept that there was a loss, [Translation] “The loss suffered by certain members of the group is subject to considerable individual variations and subjective unknown elements”. Firstly, the Court notes that the fact that the purchase price could not be negotiated may constitute a loss for those who like to bargain but, on the contrary, it could be an advantage for those who do not like to bargain, not to mention the difficulty of putting a dollar amount on the damage resulting from being deprived of the possibility of negotiating the price.Secondly, the exact value of each vehicle purchased or leased also depends on factors which are essentially individual and specific (inclusion in the price of accessories, options or after-sale service as well as any exchange value of the automobile, the transaction date, the date new models came out and old ones were liquidated, etc.).Finally, the Court held that it is essential to demonstrate the collective nature of the damages suffered and a class action is not appropriate where it would give rise at the hearing on the merits to a multitude of mini-trials due to numerous subjective factors.The Court added that, [Translation] “In this case, the judge deciding on the merits would have to conduct a detailed review of a multitude of individual factors and take into account a series of varied circumstances before being able to determine whether one of the members suffered a loss and, where applicable, the scope thereof.”In summary, this case is especially important as it provides a warning to any person wishing to institute a class action in competition law in that it is not sufficient to establish an appearance of an alleged infringement of the Competition Act. It must also be shown prima facie that the person and those he intends to represent also suffered a loss as a result of said infringement.In this case, Guy Lemay and Jean Saint-Onge were responsible of the file, assisted by Anne-Marie Lévesque.
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Canadian Royalties Closes $25 Million Financing
Canadian Royalties Inc. (TSX: CZZ) recently announced the closing of a non-brokered private placement of an aggregate 7,246,377 common shares at a price of $3.45 per common share for aggregate gross proceeds of CAN$ 25 million with Norilsk Nickel Harjavalta Oy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MMC Norilsk Nickel. Norilsk Nickel is the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium.The proceeds of the offering will be used by the Corporation to continue the development of its Nunavik Nickel Project, located near Xstrata Nickel’s Raglan Mine in Nunavik, Quebec.To complete this transaction, Sébastien Vézina, from Lavery, de Bily L.L.P., assisted Luciana Zannella, corporate secretary for Canadian Royalties.
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Thirty-four Business Lawyers Join Lavery, de Billy
Lavery, de Billy is pleased to announce that thirty-four lawyers specializing in business law, commercial litigation and bankruptcy and insolvency, together with some forty translators, paralegals and legal and administrative support staff from the Montreal office of Desjardins Ducharme have joined the Lavery, de Billy team as of October 1, 2007. Eighty Business Lawyers Lavery, de Billy now has a combined force of 175 lawyers, with 80 lawyers specializing in business law and 95 lawyers specializing in virtually every other area of the law. “With the addition of these professionals, we will provide our clients with access to 80 business lawyers who have expertise and leading-edge skills in all practice areas required to meet the needs of the business world, including corporate finance, securities, mergers and acquisitions, taxation, real estate, commercial and class action litigation, and bankruptcy and insolvency” said Mr. Richard Dolan, Managing Partner of the firm. “Our clients can also count on the know-how and resourcefulness of another 95 lawyers specializing in other areas of the law including labour and employment, civil and professional liability, insurance, environmental, information and privacy, construction, transportation, intellectual property, criminal and family law” added Mr. Michel Yergeau, the firm’s Chairman. “This combination of forces will be beneficial to all our clients since it will allow us to continue to serve them well while providing them with access to a broader range of services and increased depth of expertise” noted Mr. Gérard Coulombe
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2007 Prix de la Justice du Québec Award Minister Jacques P. Dupuis honours our partner, Mtre Jean Saint-Onge, Ad. E.
On October 15, 2007, the Minister of Justice and Minister of Public Security, Mr. Jacques P. Dupuis, awarded the Prix de la Justice Award to our partner, Mtre Jean Saint-Onge, Ad. E., in recognition of his exceptional contribution to promoting the well-being of children who are victims of mistreatment. The event was held in the National Assembly’s Legislative Council chamber in the presence of the family and friends of the recipient. Mr. Justice J. J. Michel Robert, Chief Justice of the Quebec Court of Appeal and chairman of the selection committee, was also in attendance.When presenting the award to him, the Minister of Justice highlighted Mtre Saint-Onge’s commitment to promoting the fundamental values of justice within Quebec society: accessibility, quality and universality.For more than 20 years, Mtre Saint-Onge has devoted himself through the Marie-Vincent Foundation to the cause of children who are victims of mistreatment. He has made the Foundation’s mission his own, which is to help Quebec children less than 12 years old who are victims of mistreatment, and more particularly sexual abuse. The Foundation raises funds to finance preventive and educational activities and provide support to the young victims and their families.“To be faithful to a cause for twenty years is already remarkable in itself. But to devote oneself voluntarily, without counting one’s hours, with conviction and fervour, as is the case for Mtre Saint-Onge, wins our admiration and respect” said the Minister.Mtre Saint-Onge was also honoured in early 2007 by the Québec Bar, which simultaneously conferred on him the Mérite 2007 award and a new honour, the title of Advocatus Emeritus (Ad. E.).
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Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust completes a $110M offering of convertible debentures
On October 10, 2007 Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust, one of the largest commercial property owners and managers in the Province of Quebec, completed a public offering of $110 million principal amount of 5.80 % convertible unsecured subordinated debentures.The offering was completed on a bought deal basis through a syndicate of underwriters led by National Bank Financial Inc. that comprised RBC Dominion Securities Inc., Scotia Capital Inc., BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., CIBC World Markets Inc., Desjardins Securities Inc., Canaccord Capital Corporation and Genuity Capital Markets G.P.The underwriters were represented by a team of Lavery, de Billy comprised of Marc Rochefort, Michel Servant, Réda Saad and Jean-Michel Fournier (corporate finance and securities) and Philip Nolan (tax).
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Daniel Alain Dagenais involved in organizing an international conference on sustainable consumption
On October 3 and 4, Daniel Alain Dagenais will participate in the organization of the second international conference of the Fondation Claude Masse on the theme “For a general framework of action favouring sustainable consumption”.This conference will bring together speakers from England, France, Sweden and the United States, who will present the initiatives taken by their countries to promote sustainable consumption.Also, speakers from Quebec and elsewhere in Canada will continue the discussion on Canadian actions and acquired knowledge in this field. The focus will be on energy, the food sector and waste management.The Fondation Claude Masse is dedicated to issues related to consumer law.
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CLHIA Annual Conference: Evelyne Verrier will speak
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) is organizing a conference to be held from September 26 to 28 in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Evelyne Verrier will be a speaker at the Quebec Affairs Workshop. This annual conference brings together legal advisors working for life and health insurance companies in Canada and some private practice lawyers.