Newsletters

267

Enforcement in Quebec of Foreign Judgments: Restraint Is in Order With Abusive Clauses

Quebec law allows for the recognition and enforcement of judgments rendered by foreign courts. Although these decisions are rendered according to foreign laws, can or must Quebec courts take into consideration the Quebec and Canadian public order principles in deciding whether to recognize such judgments?

In Awanda c. AMBC Ventures Inc., 2022 QCCA 1133, the Court of Appeal had the opportunity to answer this question.

The Superior Court had accepted to partially recognize and enforce a British judgment ordering the repayment of a US$100,000 loan with an annual basic effective interest rate of 438%, to which an extra 73% was added in case of contractual default. The amount owing under the judgment reached a total of US$536,500.

However, considering that a high interest rate was contrary to public order, the trial judge used his discretionary power to reduce the interest rate to 60%, the maximum allowable interest rate under section 347 of the Canadian Criminal Code.

On August 19, the Court of Appeal ruled that the British judgment was in part incompatible with public order within the meaning of paragraph 5 of article 3155 of the Civil Code of Québec.

The Court of Appeal, basing itself on article 3159 of the Civil Code, amended the decision of the trial court and recognized only the part of the British judgment relating to the reimbursement of capital. The court highlighted that Quebec courts may not amend the conclusions of a foreign judgment.

In the end, only the legal interest rate of 8% and some applicable judicial costs, included in the British judgment, were recognized, for a total of CA$218,356.89.

267

Authors

Articles in the same category

Manufacturers: the heat is on!

An important decision in Product Liability and the obligation of Diligence and Transparency The Court of Appeal recently rendered a decision in CCI Thermal Technologies Inc. c. AXA XL (XL Catlin), 2023 QCCA 231, concerning the liability of the manufacturer and the apportionment of liability between the parties. This case involved twenty separate fires caused […]

Four RSS Lawyers Named Litigation Stars

We’re proud to announce that four of our lawyers were named “Litigation Star” by Benchmark Litigation Canada for 2023: Patrick Henry, Lynne Kassie, Hugues Duguay and Vikki Andrighetti. Congratulations for this accomplishment!

Without a Written Conventional Subrogation, Your Recourse May Be Dismissed

On March 28, 2023, the Superior Court of Quebec partially granted a motion to dismiss the case, dealing with the notions of legal subrogation, conventional subrogation and prejudice. This judgment, Gouvernement de la Nation Crie / Cree Nation Government c. 9327-1781 Québec inc., 2023, reminds us that it is essential for a non-insurer to agree […]

Standard Mortage Endorsment: Is it a Shield for the Creditor?

The scope and protection afforded to a mortgage creditor by the standard mortgage endorsement was again analyzed by the Court of Appeal in Roma Capital inc. 2023 QCCA 307. It should be noted that in this decision rendered on March 7, 2023, the Court of Appeal was hesitant since the decision was rendered on a […]

The strict standard applicable to the exclusion clause for suicide

On February 3, 2023, in Bolduc v. SSQ Assurance, 2023 QCCS 266, the Superior Court once again reminded the insurance industry that strict compliance with the rules governing the drafting of exclusion clauses, particularly in the case of suicide, is essential to avoid unfortunate consequences for insurers. The facts in dispute On November 23, 2006, […]

Where do you keep your corrosive cleaner?

The Facts La Capitale was claiming reimbursement of more than $137,000 in compensation paid to its insureds following water damage that occurred in their home on February 2, 2017. La Capitale was thus suing the general contractor who built the residence in 2012, the distributor of the faucet whose flexible pipe failed, as well as […]

Be the first informed:

Subscribe to our communications