Publications

December 11, 2018

A New Look at Interlocutory Injunctions

The year 2018 has been an important one for case law regarding injunctions: the Supreme Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal of Quebec each rendered decisions that redefined certain parameters for the issuing of a interlocutory injunction. R. v. Canadian Broadcasting Corp. On February 9, 2018, (…)

December 5, 2018

Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corp. v. Hydro-Québec | The Supreme Court rules in favour of Hydro-Québec: the interaction between good faith and the scheme of the contract

Introduction Although 24 years of jurisprudence have gone by since its codification in article 1375 of the Civil Code of Québec, the notion of good faith remains a vague concept whose incidence on the performance of contracts is still unclear.  Although it is increasingly evident that good faith is (…)

September 26, 2018

Wellington-Type Motion And Reserve Of Rights Letter

On July 9, 2018, the Superior Court once again examined the principles applicable to Wellington-type motions in connection with a matter opposing two contractors against their liability insurers in a legal proceeding initiated by the Société des traversiers du Québec (hereafter “STQ”). The (…)

March 20, 2018

Civil liability and personal injury: A harsh decision for a winter sports centre

The Court of Québec released an interesting judgment in December in a case involving civil liability and personal injury.1 On February 23, 2013, Plaintiff, Ms. Bourgault, went to Village Vacances Valcartier (“VVV”) to take part in a snow rafting activity. During a descent, she was twice thrown (…)

February 20, 2018

The contract may remain in force despite misrepresentations or latent defects because the consumer has obligations too

This publication was authored by Luc Thibaudeau, former partner of Lavery and now judge in the Civil Division of the Court of Québec, District of Longueuil. The duty to inform is one of the main obligations sellers owe to their purchasers. This applies in the context of civil law, business law or (…)

February 15, 2018

Standing Senate Committee of Canada's Transport and Communications issues report on driving of smart vehicles

Introduction In January 2018, the Senate's Standing Committee on Transport and Communications (hereinafter the "Committee"), chaired by the Hon. David Tkachuk, published a report on the impact of automated vehicles in the country at the behest of the Minister of Transport of Canada. The first (…)

August 8, 2017

Directors in the crosshairs of the Supreme Court

In the context of the case of Wilson c. Alharayeri1 (“Wilson”), issued on July 13, 2017, the highest court of the land confirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal of Québec which ordered a corporate director personally to pay an amount of $648,310 to a shareholder following an abuse he committed (…)

May 5, 2017

Arbitration and quasi-judicial tribunals: Must corporations and private bodies necessarily be represented by a lawyer?

While individuals (natural persons) may represent themselves and need not resort to a lawyer before the courts, a legal person or a corporation must necessarily be represented by a lawyer, both pursuant to the Code of Civil Procedure (articles 23, 86 and 87) as well as by reason of the acts reserved (…)

March 23, 2017

Artificial Intelligence and the 2017 Canadian Budget: is your business ready?

The March 22, 2017 Budget of the Government of Canada, through its “Innovation and Skills Plan” (http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/plan/budget-2017-en.pdf) mentions that Canadian academic and research leadership in artificial intelligence will be translated into a more innovative economy and (…)

February 9, 2017

Disqualification of a law firm: the Superior Court broadens the spectre of conflicts of interest

In a decision rendered on December 1, 2016, the Superior Court of Québec had to rule on a situation which, until that time, was completely novel, and to determine whether lawyers can act in a court action against former employees of a client whom they still have to work with in connection with (…)

February 1, 2017

The judicial review of a decision rendered by the Court of Québec in civil matters: an unusual remedy, although possible in some circumstances

The superintending and reforming power of the Superior Court of Québec over the decisions of the Court of Québec is indisputable. It is furthermore confirmed by article 34 of the Code of Civil Procedure1, which grants to the Superior Court powers to judicially review decisions made by the Québec (…)

November 10, 2014

Changes to the Code of Civil procedure (Quebec) - Small claims: From $7,000 to $15,000

On January 1, 2015, the jurisdictional threshold of the Small Claims Court will be raised from $7,000 to $15,000. This constitutes a first step toward the modernization of civil procedure, explained the Minister of Justice, which will be followed by the coming into force of the new Code of Civil (…)

June 1, 2014

Quarterly legal newsletter intended for accounting, management, and finance professionals, Number 24

CONTENTSNominees in the context of litigationUse of a nominee by limited partnerships and trusts for holding immovablesVoluntary registration for GST and QST purposes by a nomineeImmovables held by a nominee: Issues with respect to consumption taxesNOMINEES IN THE CONTEXT OF LITIGATIONLéa Maalouf  (…)