Insurance Law

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 […]

First and foremost, we would like to wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2021 in both your personal and professional lives. We look forward to sharing with you a snapshot of our activities over the course of the year. Since our previous six-month review, the firm has been very busy. In fact RSS […]

The Superior Court’s decision in Labelle c. Jivestudio Inc., 2020 QCCS 3420, rendered in the midst of the pandemic, ruled on the underlying criteria to determine, at a preliminary stage, whether an insurer has an obligation to take up its insured’s defence. The plaintiff was seriously injured while performing an acrobatic manoeuvre with a troupe […]

The decision in Croteau (Succession de Roy) c. TD Compagnie d’assurance-vie, 2020 QCCS 3539, rendered on October 21, deals with the nullity of a contract of insurance of persons for misrepresentation and/or concealment. The Court reiterated that the insurer, represented by RSS, was entitled to presume that the declarations of the insured were true, and […]

The Quebec Superior Court ruling rendered on September 29 in Future Electronics Inc. (Distribution) Pte Ltd. v. Chubb Insurance Company of Canada, 2020 QCCS 3042 is the first Canadian decision, and only the second North American ruling, that has analyzed the interplay between the Social Engineering Fraud, Computer Fraud and Funds Transfer Fraud insuring agreements […]

The Superior Court’s decision in Compagnie d’assurances AIG du Canada c. Kenworth Québec inc., 2020 QCCS 1377, is a reminder of the principles applicable to the warranty against latent defects. In April 2014, a Kenworth vehicle belonging to the City of Shawinigan [City] and insured by Compagnie d’assurances AIG du Canada [AIG] caught fire and […]

In Constructions Reliance inc. (Constructions Reliance du Canada ltée) c. Compagnie d’assurances Temple, 2020 QCCA 947, recently rendered by the Court of Appeal, the Court concluded that the judge of first instance had not committed any error in deciding that the wrap-up policy issued by Temple did not cover damages caused by a painter since […]

On July 10, a 275-paragraph judgment (Reference re Genetic Non-Discrimination Act, 2020 SCC 17) handed down by a five-to-four majority of the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the constitutional validity of sections 1 to 7 of the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act [Act]. Accordingly, no one will be able to compel a person to undergo a genetic […]