Caroline Cassagnabère

Lawyer

Expertise

Insurance Law

Language

English, French

Office

Montréal

LinkedIn

 

Caroline Cassagnabère is a lawyer in our Insurance Law Group. Her practice focuses primarily on professional and civil liability.

A significant portion of Caroline’s work involves defending professionals in cases referred to her by their professional liability insurance funds, often involving a wide range of legal issues. She also handles numerous general civil liability matters, representing contractors, sellers, manufacturers or property owners in cases involving latent defects, construction defects, product liability or bodily injury.

Before joining our firm, Caroline practiced at a firm specializing in class actions, where she developed expertise that now informs her defense of clients in class action matters.

Caroline began her legal career as a lecturer and academic researcher before transitioning to private practice, an experience that continues to benefit her legal work today. Teaching helped her develop instincts in courtroom advocacy, while her research background has proven particularly valuable in files involving complex legal questions. Her clients appreciate her strong analytical skills, which allow her to untangle the facts of their cases, identify key issues, and propose effective, creative solutions to even the most complex files.


Representative files and mandates

  • Defending a notary in a dispute concerning the challenge of registered rights-of-way on land within a real estate development project
  • Defending a tax specialist regarding their advisory obligations in the context of a tax optimization plan
  • Defending a notary concerning their duty to advise on land transfer tax exemptions related to the repossession of a commercial property
  • Defending a notary acting as an estate liquidator in a contentious estate matter
  • Defending a notary involved in a due diligence mandate preceding the sale of a company’s shares
  • Representing an accountant in a pre-judgment seizure proceeding under a Norwich order
  • Defending a shopping centre in a bodily injury claim
  • Defending a professional association in a class action suit alleging anti-competitive practices by its members


Associations

  • Young Bar of Montreal
  • Montreal Association of Insurance Women (MAIW) (2021—present)
  • Member of the Board of Directors of the Association professionnelle des avocates et avocats du Québec


Bulletins

Late-Night Fries, a Criminal Tenant, Illicit Activities, and False Statements: A Sufficient Cocktail for Denial of Insurance Coverage, According to the Court

July 14, 2025

In the case St-Amour v. Promutuel Boréale, société mutuelle d’assurances générales[1], the owner of a rental property submitted an insurance claim for significant damage caused to the building following a fire started by his tenant, who had left a pot of oil unattended on a propane stove. Following the insurer’s refusal to indemnify, plaintiff instituted […]

“What if…?” The Fear of an Increased Risk of Cancer Is Not Compensable Damage Justifying a Class Action

September 15, 2022

On August 12, 2022, in Palmer v. Teva Canada Ltd., 2022 ONSC 4690, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed an application for authorization to bring a class action against the manufacturers of a hypertension drug sold under the generic name of valsartan. The application was filed in 2018, a few days after the manufacturers […]

Claim for Latent Defects: Reminders of the Buyer’s Obligation of Prudence, Misleading Representations and Disclosure of Defects

March 14, 2022

On January 12, 2022, in Crooks c. Nguyen, 2022 QCCS 55, the Superior Court awarded a $115,000 reduction of the purchase price and granted $14,600 in moral damages to the buyers of a house affected by several defects. This case reminds us of several important points on the seller’s warranty of quality. The claim relates […]


Publications and Conferences

  • “‘What if…?’ The Fear of an Increased Risk of Cancer Is Not Compensable Damage Justifying a Class Action”, RSS newsletter, September 15, 2022
  • “Claim for Latent Defects: Reminders of the Buyer’s Obligation of Prudence, Misleading Representations and Disclosure of Defects”, RSS newsletter, March 14, 2022
  • “Commentaire sur la décision Gendron c. Bourassa Chevrolet Buick GMC ltée — La Cour supérieure confirme l’existence d’un recours récursoire entre débiteurs in solidum” (with Véronique Roy), Repères, March 2018
  • “Définir l’affectation? Réflexions sur la notion d’affectation sous le prisme de la volonté et de l’intérêt”, Revue juridique de l’Ouest, 2013/2
  • “De la division du patrimoine au ‘démembrement de la personnalité’: étude du concept de patrimoine d’affectation à travers l’exemple québécois”, Revue Lamy Droit Civil, April 2012, p. 63


Education

Certificate in Law

Université de Montréal

2017

Postdoctoral studies in law

McGill University

2011–2013

Doctorate in Law (Ph.D.)

University of Rennes 1 (France)

2011


Call to Bar

Quebec

2018