{"id":30567,"date":"2025-06-30T09:07:47","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T13:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rsslex.com\/?p=30567"},"modified":"2025-07-10T09:05:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T13:05:25","slug":"the-court-of-appeal-sheds-light-on-latent-defects-hidden-in-the-shadow-of-2118-c-c-q","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rsslex.com\/en\/bulletins-en\/the-court-of-appeal-sheds-light-on-latent-defects-hidden-in-the-shadow-of-2118-c-c-q\/","title":{"rendered":"The Court of Appeal Sheds Light on Latent Defects Hidden in the Shadow of 2118 c.c.q."},"content":{"rendered":"

In the matter of Desjardins Assurance g\u00e9n\u00e9rales inc. <\/em>v. Imeubles Devler inc.<\/em><\/a> rendered on May 9 of this year, the Court of Appeal overturned a Court of Quebec judgment and emphasized the importance of evaluating the liability of all parties in a chain of contracts under all applicable liability regimes, even in situations where the application of the legal warranty of article 2118 of the Civil Code of Quebec (\u201cC.C.Q.<\/em><\/strong>\u201d) is raised.<\/p>\n

The Facts<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In May of 2015, Mr. Thomas Andreo (\u201cAndreo<\/strong>\u201d) purchased a condominium in a building completed in 2014 by promoter and builder, Les Immeubles Devler Inc. (\u201cDevler<\/strong>\u201d). In September 2018, Andreo discovered water damage and retained experts who confirmed it was caused by a leaky air conditioning unit. He denounced this situation to Devler which, in turn, notified Laval\u00e9e-Dufour Inc. (\u201cLD<\/strong>\u201d), Devler\u2019s subcontractor that installed the air conditioning unit in question. Devler and LD carried out an inspection a few weeks later.<\/p>\n

Desjardins Assurances G\u00e9n\u00e9rales inc. (\u201cDesjardins<\/strong>\u201d), insurer of Andreo and the Co-ownership, covered the repair and relocation costs assessed in an expert report obtained at the Co-ownership\u2019s request. Desjardins, subrogated in the rights of its insured, and the Co-ownership instituted proceedings against Devler and LD.<\/p>\n

The Judgment<\/strong><\/h2>\n

At trial, Desjardins and the Co-ownership put emphasis on the 5-year legal warranty provided at article 2118 C.C.Q.<\/em> which applies to construction defects resulting in \u201ca loss of the work\u201d. They also argued that Devler and LD were liable pursuant to legislation governing latent defects. In defence, LD argued that its liability could not be engaged as it had no legal connection with Andreo or the Co-ownership, further maintaining that it committed no fault. Devler was not represented and the trial proceeded against it by default.<\/p>\n

In a judgment rendered on May 16, 2024, the Court of Quebec mentioned that \u201cthe Insured and the Co-ownership preponderantly established the existence of a construction defect\u201d but concluded, on the other hand, that they had not established a \u201closs of the work\u201d in the sense of article 2118 C.C.Q.<\/em> and therefore dismissed the claim entirely. Desjardins and the Co-ownership appealed.<\/p>\n

In a judgment of May 9, 2025, the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the appellants and concluded that the trial judge should not have limited his analysis to article 2118 C.C.Q.<\/em> Indeed, it is up to the parties to determine the object of their claim, and the courts cannot go beyond what is sought in the proceedings, but the lack of an analysis of civil liability and of vendor warranties required the Court of Appeal\u2019s intervention.<\/p>\n

As for LD, the Court of Appeal noted that a breach of contract would legally constitute a factual occurrence with respect to Desjardins\u2019 insured, which is insufficient to engage its liability. The evidence adduced at trial, however, allowed for the conclusion that LD had not respected a standard of reasonable care and diligence in the execution of its contract. This therefore constituted an extracontractual fault that directly prejudiced Desjardins\u2019 insured and engaged its liability accordingly.<\/p>\n

With respect to Devler, the Court of Appeal ruled that the evidence at trial established the existence of a latent defect for which Delver should be held liable in its capacity as a professional vendor (articles 1726, 1729, 1733 and 1442 C.C.Q<\/em>).<\/p>\n

As LD and Devler were liable for the same damages pursuant to two different liability regimes, the Court of Appeal ordered them to pay damages on an in solidum <\/em>basis.<\/p>\n

Takeaway <\/strong><\/h2>\n

When evaluating the liability of parties in a chain of contracts, it is important to consider each fault reproached under each applicable liability regime. Even in cases where a \u201closs of the work\u201d would not have occurred in the sense of article 2118 C.C.Q.<\/em>, this does not exclude the application of other civil liability regimes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the matter of Desjardins Assurance g\u00e9n\u00e9rales inc. v. Imeubles Devler inc. rendered on May 9 of this year, the Court of Appeal overturned a Court of Quebec judgment and emphasized the importance of evaluating the liability of all parties in a chain of contracts under all applicable liability regimes, even in situations where the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[242,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insurance-law-en","category-bulletins-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Court of Appeal Sheds Light on Latent Defects Hidden in the Shadow of 2118 c.c.q. - RSS - Robinson Sheppard Shapiro<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rsslex.com\/en\/bulletins-en\/the-court-of-appeal-sheds-light-on-latent-defects-hidden-in-the-shadow-of-2118-c-c-q\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Court of Appeal Sheds Light on Latent Defects Hidden in the Shadow of 2118 c.c.q. - RSS - Robinson Sheppard Shapiro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the matter of Desjardins Assurance g\u00e9n\u00e9rales inc. v. 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