Jean-Pierre Sheppard

• Broadcasting — Obtained an order to compel a cable broadcaster to continue broadcasting our client’s television programs.
• Professional liability — Defended a firm of tax lawyers and obtained the dismissal of a claim for over $50 million for alleged negligence in corporate structuring and tax planning transactions. The Supreme Court of Canada affirmed this decision in December 2018.
• “Partner” rights — Obtained judgment recognizing a 50% co-owner of a commercial building’s right of withdrawal for fair market value.
• Unfair competition — Obtained an injunction on behalf of an integrated producer of goods and services for the aviation industry. The following orders were granted:
  • An order compelling the defendant, a competitor, to return documents to our client relating to operations, accounting and finances illegally taken by former employees of our client
  • An order barring these former employees from using confidential information concerning our client’s operations, accounting and business
  • An order barring them from soliciting their former employer’s clients for several months
• Intellectual property — Obtained an injunction barring an ex-employee, now a competitor, from selling software used for the home oil distribution trade, and from doing business with our client’s customers. The Court’s judgment declared the software to be our client’s property.
• Partnerships — Challenged the validity of the sale of a general partnership’s sole real estate asset. The issue related to whether the decision required a majority or a unanimous vote.

Shareholders’ Rights

• Obtained orders for the repurchase of minority shareholders’ shares for fair value in cases of oppressive and unfair conduct by majority shareholders.
• Obtained many emergency interim injunctions to secure access to accounting, financial and operational information on behalf of minority shareholders excluded from the management and operations of private companies.
• Obtained injunctions to prevent majority shareholders from disposing of, and fraudulently converting, corporate assets and funds for their own profit.
• Successfully defended majority shareholders — directors and officers — unjustly accused by minority shareholders of having caused the corporation to become insolvent and bankrupt. The Court denied the claim for damages against them.
• Successfully defended majority shareholders and directors against a claim for oppression and for an order to redeem a minority shareholder’s shares. The Court denied the claim, as the defendants had acted in the best interests of the company and in accordance with best practices.

Class Actions

• Presently represents directors of public companies in a case based on allegedly false statements of financial results in prospectuses.
• Presently represents a company alleged to have misrepresented the price of certain products on its website.
• Successfully represented a financial institution against claims based on alleged misrepresentations in the sale of financial products, including RRSP investments.
• Represented actuaries having allegedly failed to follow standard practices in calculating accounting and financial reserves for public companies. The case was settled for a nominal amount.
• Represented manufacturers of allegedly defective breast implants and artificial hips, in addition to representing Quebec hospitals and health institutions in the C. difficile bacteria contamination case.

• Speaker at various conferences on business law and commercial litigation; shareholders’ litigation; defending against class actions; and drafting restrictive covenants in shareholders’ agreements, sales contracts for businesses, and employment agreements.
• Frequently invited to lecture on litigation and advocacy techniques and strategies at the McGill University Faculty of Law.

Jean-Pierre’s publications include:

• Co-author of the chapter on Quebec’s conflict of laws regime in Lawrence W. Newman, Editor, Enforcement of Money Judgments, Huntington, NY, Juris Publishing, Inc. (looseleaf, last updated October 2014)
• “La doctrine des attentes légitimes: où en sommes-nous en 2012?”, Développements récents en droit des affaires, vol. 350 in Développements récents, Barreau du Québec/Éditions Yvon Blais, p. 391, 2012
• “La notion d’‘expectative’ ou attentes légitimes: un outil additionnel dans l’arsenal de l’actionnaire minoritaire”, Canadian Bar Association
• “Rédiger des clauses de non-concurrence qui tiennent compte des réalités d’affaires d’aujourd’hui: anticiper et prévoir les conflits potentiels”, Canadian Institute Conference on Business Agreements, May 2007

“La gestion des risques découlant du traitement d’une réclamation en assurance-responsabilité générale et des biens — Traitement et gestion des tactiques en défense dans le cadre de recours collectifs”, Canadian Institute

• Volunteer soccer and hockey coach for both competitive and non-competitive teams in his community
• Active volunteer with organizations helping unhoused individuals find lodging and employment