Insurance Law

Since the adoption of the Automobile Insurance Act [Act], a lot has been written about its inherent concept of causation. Cohen c. Ville de Montréal, 2021 QCCS 1874, a recent decision of the Superior Court, provided an overview of the applicable principles. On the night of June 15, 2017, Noam Cohen, a young man under […]

When drafting this introduction to our newsletter capping the first six months of 2021, I realized that, while we were adjusting our services to maintain RSS’s standards during the last year and a half, we went significantly beyond what used to be our “business as usual” mode. Actually, our business is growing, and our dedicated Insurance […]

On May 20, 2021, the Court of Appeal, in the case of Ville de Mascouche c. Architectes Rivest-Jodoin & Associé, 2021 QCCA 859 affirmed the decision of the Superior Court (2019 QCCS 1996) which granted a motion to dismiss on the grounds of prescription. The City of Mascouche [City] hired Anjalec Construction inc. [Anjalec] in […]

The Superior Court recently rendered an interesting decision in Dang c. Industrielle-Alliance, assurance auto et habitation inc., 2021 QCCS 1408, emphasizing the importance for the insured to give a thorough declaration of the risk to the insurer. In this case, the plaintiff was asking her insurer for an indemnity following a fire that had damaged […]

In Construction Placo inc. c. Kingspan Insulated Panels Ltd., 2021 QCCS 1230, rendered on March 18, 2021, Construction Placo inc. [Placo], as cross-defendant, sought an order from the Court requesting Société d’assurance générale Northbridge [Northbridge] to assume its defence and to pay all costs associated with its defence within the scope of the cross-claim. In […]

In Pelletier c. Gauthier (Decision issued April 13, 2021 by the Honourable Jocelyn Pilote, j.c.s., C.S. – 150-17-004304-207), defendants Gauthier et Simard filed a Wellington application against Intact Compagnie d’assurance and Desjardins Assurances générales as impleaded parties, requesting only the right to select their lawyer. Defendants were sued on the basis of alleged latent defects […]

In a decision rendered by the Court of Quebec (still unpublished as of this writing) on January 22, 2021 in 9174-0886 Québec inc. c. Rochette, RSS successfully presented a motion alleging abuse of proceedings in a related case dismissed at the preliminary stage, by arguing the application of res judicata. The facts In 2014, Plaintiff […]

On December 15, 2020, the Quebec Court of Appeal issued an important judgment concerning the short six-month time limitation period of s. 586 of the Cities and Towns Act [CTA] in Ville de Brossard c. Belmamoun, 2020 QCCA 1718. In August 2013, Plaintiffs Mohamed Belmamoun and Gaétan L’Heureux filed a Motion for authorization to institute […]

When an insurance policy has a valid dispute resolution clause, the Court must decline to hear the matter and refer it to a mediator or arbitrator, even if the matter relates to a class action, as was decided by the Superior Court in 9369-1426 Québec inc. (Restaurant Bâton Rouge) v. Allianz Global Risks US Insurance […]

In the case of J. Noël Francœur inc. c. Industrielle Alliance, assurances auto et habitation inc., 2020 QCCA 1676, the Court of Appeal was called upon to interpret certain provisions of the Fire Safety Act [FSA], more particularly section 47 which contains an exemption from liability for persons who in certain circumstances assist firefighters during […]