Insurance Law

A hotel operator offers travellers to park their car in its parking lot while they’re on their winter vacation. A car is stolen while its owner is away. The hotel operator’s liability is at stake. Must one conclude that the car was under its care, which would deprive it of insurance coverage under the “care, […]

Compensation for property damages is awarded to allow restoring the situation that prevailed before the damage. A court will therefore award an amount sufficient to repair, rebuild or replace the damaged property. But what if the cost of making the victim whole again is increased because of external factors, such as more rigorous standards than […]

The Court of Appeal’s decision in Garand c. Fiducie Elena Tchouprounova, 2018 QCCA 876, rendered on July 19, 2018, discusses the starting point for the prescription period when dealing with defects that appear gradually. Click here to read more (PDF).

In Grandmaître c. Lacombe (2016 QCCS 2216), the Superior Court held that a self-builder who sold an immovable was not a professional seller and consequently could invoke a clause excluding the legal warranty against hidden defects. The Court of Appeal recently affirmed this decision in Grandmaître c. Lacombe (2018 QCCA 651). Click here to read […]

Whenever damage occurs in a condo building, the directors of the syndicate should first make sure to exhaust all possible remedies against the syndicate’s insurer before filing a claim against a co-owner. Such is, after all, the purpose of the syndicate’s insurance policy. This newsletter discusses a recent judicial decision in Syndicat des copropriétaires du […]

While for some the pre-purchase inspection is essential when purchasing a home or building, others feel it is of little use considering the various limitations to the inspector’s mandate. Marika Douville explains basic notions on inspections, then discusses them in light of the decision of the Superior Court in 9125-5216 Québec inc. c. Sogevem Associés […]

In the recent matter of Fortier c. SSQ, société d’assurances générales inc., 2018 QCCS 1495, the Superior Court analyzed the provisions of the Civil Code of Quebec pertaining to the Insured’s obligation to disclose all relevant circumstances for the assessment of risk, when said circumstances relate to the criminal record of a third party residing […]

The recent decision in Compagnie d’assurances Missisquoi c. Constructions Reliance inc. (Construction Reliance du Canada ltée), 2018 QCCS 1049, was the occasion for the Superior Court to clarify the scope of application of wrap-up and Completed Operations Hazard policies. Click here to read more (PDF).

In a recent decision (Fiset-Trudeau c. Compagnie mutuelle d’assurances Wawanesa, 2017 QCCS 5071), Madam Justice Florence Lucas held that an insurer’s notes and records, as prepared by its representatives, were subject to the litigation privilege and that, accordingly, the insurer could not be compelled to disclose them. Click here to read more (PDF).

November 1, 2017 — In CNH Industrial Canada Ltd. c. Promutuel Verchères, société mutuelle d’assurances générales, 2017 QCCA 154, the Court of Appeal confirmed that the purchaser of a property stricken with a latent defect, who sues the professional seller or the manufacturer, benefits from a triple presumption against the latter: presumption that there is a […]