Newsletters

192

The RSS Business Law Practice Group: Still Active Despite COVID-19

The RSS Business Law Practice Group is here to help. Although we are rigorously respecting governmental guidelines in order to protect public health, we remain fully connected to the business world and remain ready to assist you through this difficult period.

As certain restrictions on businesses ease, we are here to guide and counsel you as you cope with current challenges or prepare to resume your business activities and operations.

Counsel and Negotiation

Whether you must draft or review a contract, or you require expert advice concerning an uncertain situation, we are ready and available to help you with matters such as:

  • Negotiating forbearance agreements with your banker or financial institution;
  • Providing advice regarding commercial insolvency whether you are concerned as a debtor or a creditor;
  • Negotiating issues concerning commercial leases as landlord or tenant: difficulty making rental payments; impossibility to perform renovation work; restricted business hours, etc.;
  • Analyzing the tax consequences resulting from the special circumstances associated with the pandemic.

Litigation

The usual operations of the Judiciary have been altered by measures such as the suspension of time limits for extinctive prescription, the suspension of time limits in civil and administrative proceedings, as well as restricted access to courthouses.

Nevertheless, some proceedings and planning remain necessary to protect your rights, and our civil and commercial litigation group is ready to take action such as:

  • Filing proceedings deemed urgent according to guidelines issued by the courts;
  • Preparing proceedings during the suspension so that we can quickly pursue litigation as soon as the courts reopen;
  • Advising on the impact of the pandemic on your various contractual undertakings and/or rights;
  • Assisting in the preservation of your rights, such as registering legal hypothecs and taking other conservatory measures.

Do not hesitate to contact us for all your business law needs.

192

Authors

Herbert Z. Pinchuk

Lawyer, Partner

Annie Claude Beauchemin

Lawyer, Partner

Articles in the same category

So? Is it settled or not?

In an interim decision in Djaferian v. Spanoudakis,rendered on February 20, 2026, the Superior Court had to determine whether an offer made 15 months earlier, prior to the institution of proceedings, could still be accepted and result in a transaction. Summary of Facts and Timeline The Plaintiff, a co-owner who sustained water damage to his private […]

Office Parties and the Employer’s Duty to Prevent Harassment

In De Sousa and Corporation interactive Eidos, 2026 QCTAT 4, the Quebec Administrative Labour Tribunal (ALT) appears to have broadened the scope of an employer’s obligation to prevent harassment. The decision arose from a complaint filed by a former employee who had been sexually assaulted at her home by a colleague following an office party organized by the […]

Should Economic Losses Be Considered Property Damage?

The Quebec Court of Appeal in Zurich, Compagnie d’assurances SA c. CRT Construction inc., recently overturned the Superior Court’s decision on the interpretation of a construction insurance policy. Facts CRT Construction Inc. (“CRT”) was retained by the City of Montreal (“City”) to perform major construction work at the Atwater water treatment plant. At the City’s request, CRT […]

The Court of Appeal delves deep into the parties’ intentions and claimant hits a wall…

The Facts In the context of a project for the construction of a ten-storey condo building, the excavation contractor subcontracts the design and installation of a Berlin-type retaining wall (the “Wall”) to Phénix Maritime inc. (“Phénix”) which, in turn, subcontracts the design to Les Investigations Marcel Leblanc inc. (“IML”). Problems arise that substantially delay the […]

New CAI Guidance on Preventing Confidentiality Incidents: A Practical Roadmap for Businesses in Quebec

On January 30, 2026, Quebec’s privacy regulator, the Commission d’accès à l’information (“CAI”), published fresh guidance aimed at strengthening how organizations prevent confidentiality incidents involving personal information. Confidentiality incidents are one of the most significant privacy risks facing organizations today. In Quebec, these incidents are governed by several laws, including the Act respecting the protection […]

Not-So-Latent Defects for a Poorly Equipped Tradesman

In Beaudoin v. Boucher, 2025 QCCA 1646, rendered last December 19, the Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal of an action in latent defects brought by the buyers of a residential property. The Court reiterated the buyer’s duty to pursue further inspections when confronted with serious indicia of defects, particularly where they possess recognized expertise […]