Publications

November 24, 2017

The Superior Court of Québec rules on the insurable interest of someone
who acted as a nominee in the context of the acquisition of a property

On September 8, 2017, in the case of El-Ferekh c. Intact, compagnie d’assurance, 1 the Superior Court of Québec ruled on the insurable interest of someone who acted as a nominee in the context of the deeds pertaining to the acquisition of an immovable property covered by an insurance policy. The (…)

November 13, 2017

Bill 150 and the distribution of financial products and services

On October 31, 2017, Québec’s Finance Minister, Carlos J. Leitão, introduced Bill 150, An Act respecting mainly the implementation of certain provisions of the Budget Speeches of 17 March 2016 and 28 March 2017 (“Bill 150”). In this newsletter we will discuss the changes made to the Civil Code of (…)

November 8, 2017

Bill 150 and damage insurance brokerage

On October 31, 2017, Québec’s Finance Minister, Carlos J. Leitão, introduced Bill 150, An Act respecting mainly the implementation of certain provisions of the Budget Speeches of 17 March 2016 and 28 March 2017 (“Bill 150”). In this article, we will discuss the changes made to the Act respecting the (…)

October 23, 2017

Comprehensive reform of the rules governing the regulation
and operations in the Québec financial sector

On October 5, 2017, Québec's Minister of Finance, Carlos J. Leitão, has tabled Bill 141 in Québec's National Assembly. The Bill, which is 470 pages long and includes some 750 sections, is entitled An Act mainly to improve the regulation of the financial sector, the protection of deposits of money (…)

May 8, 2017

The Role of the Expert under the new Code of Civil Procedure

The coming into force of the new Code of Civil Procedure on January 1, 2016 created some uncertainty for litigation lawyers. One issue was the role of experts in litigation and in particular the emphasis on joint experts and the filing of an expert’s report in lieu of testimony. Other provisions (…)

May 1, 2017

Artificial intelligence and its legal challenges

Is there a greater challenge than to write a legal article on an emerging technology that does not exist yet in its absolute form? Artificial intelligence, through a broad spectrum of branches and applications, will impact corporate and business integrity, corporate governance, distribution of (…)

April 20, 2017

Autonomous cars will shortly be on the roads in Montréal

Autonomous cars have really taken off in the last few years, particularly due to the interest of both consumers and the businesses who develop and improve them. In this context, on April 5 and 10, 2017, the City of Montréal and the Government of Québec respectively announced significant investments (…)

April 5, 2017

The Supreme Court puts a break on civil actions brought following an automobile accident

On March 24, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down an eagerly awaited decision, namely in Godbout v. Pagé.1 In this case, the victims of two different automobile accidents were suing third parties for events that occurred following their respective accidents. For the first victim, it was the (…)

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 (…)

March 1, 2017

The insured is responsible for the cost of bringing its building up to construction standards

On December 19, 2016, the Alberta Court of Appeal allowed the appeal1 of the insurer which had excluded from its policy coverage the rebuilding costs associated with bringing the insured building up to by-law standards. The Court of Appeal unanimously maintained the exclusion for damages resulting (…)

December 1, 2016

The Supreme Court of Canada reinforces the protection of litigation privilege by elevating it to class privilege status

Ten years after Blank v. Canada (Minister of Justice),1 the leading case regarding litigation privilege, the Supreme Court of Canada has seized the opportunity to reaffirm and expand on the principles set out in that important decision. Indeed, in its most recent case, Lizotte v. Aviva Insurance (…)

November 30, 2016

The Québec Court of Appeal considers the issue of the amount of insurance:¹ liability of the broker and/or chartered appraiser

Facts Bar et spectacles Jules et Jim inc. (hereinafter the “Bar” or “Insured”) sought to renew the insurance coverage for its building, which was then insured for $424,000.2 On the recommendation of its broker, it obtained an appraisal which concluded that the reconstruction cost of the building (…)

November 3, 2016

An obiter of the Québec Court of Appeal makes its way up to the Supreme Court of Canada

The facts The client, Station Lands Ltd. (“Station”) retained the general contractor Ledcor Construction Ltd. (“Ledcor”) to build the Epcor tower in Edmonton. As is customary, Station and Ledcor purchased a builders’ risk all-risk property insurance to cover property damage which may occur in the (…)