Jean-Pierre Sheppard

Lawyer, Partner and Head of the Civil and Commercial Litigation Group

Language

English, French

Office

Montréal

 

Jean-Pierre Sheppard is a partner and the head of our Commercial Litigation Group. His practice focuses on shareholder and partner disputes. He represents private businesses and public institutions in cases involving breaches of the contractual, legal and statutory obligations of shareholders, directors and officers. He has been involved in numerous unfair competition cases, as well as matters involving non-competition and non-solicitation clauses, and the misappropriation of confidential information.

Jean-Pierre is often called upon to plead injunctions, seizures before judgment, and other emergency measures as part of his mandates. He appears before all levels of court, including the Superior Court and Court of Appeal.


Representative files and mandates

  • 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.


Honours

  • Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (2022)
  • Listed in the Best Lawyers in Canada directory in the Commercial Litigation category (2015–present)


Bulletins

The Court of Appeal Considers the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Contractual Relationships

18 April 2020

As of April 16, 2020, there have been some 27 published judgements rendered by Quebec courts and tribunals that mention COVID. One decision is of particular interest as it addresses the impact that COVID-19 could have going forward. In Naimer c. Naimer, 2020 QCCA 567, Justice Geneviève Marcotte of the Court of Appeal ruled on […]


Publications and Conferences

  • 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



Community Involvement

  • 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


Education

Bachelor of Civil Law (B.C.L.)

McGill University

1986

Bachelor of Literature (BA)

McGill University

1982


Call to Bar

Quebec

1987