Tag Archives: Robinson Sheppard Shapiro

By Annie Claude Beauchemin, Jean-Yves Fortin, Ad. E., and Elyssa Leiberman, from our Business Law Practice Group

August 6, 2020 — On July 20, 2020, the Court of Appeal finally ruled on a controversy that had existed for several years in Quebec regarding the respect of the delays set out in the Civil Code of Québec [CCQ] for the surrender of property, in the context of a recourse undertaken by a secured creditor under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act [BIA] (Séquestre de Media5 Corporation, 2020 QCCA 943). It is now clear that a secured creditor who wishes to appoint a national receiver under section 243 BIA in order to enforce its security, will first have to ensure that the prior notice period set out in article 2758 CCQ has duly expired. However, it will remain possible to plead that urgent circumstances require the appointment of an interim receiver under sections 46, 47 or 47.1 of the BIA.

By Ariane Légère-Bordeleau, from our Insurance Law Practice Group

August 4, 2020 — On July 10, a 275-paragraph judgment (Reference re Genetic Non-Discrimination Act, 2020 SCC 17) handed down by a five-to-four majority of the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the constitutional validity of sections 1 to 7 of the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act [Act].

July 24, 2020 — A brief portrait of cases and activities of RSS’s Insurance Law Practice Group over the past few months

Active Despite the Coronavirus

The pandemic has not spared the legal community. However, as legal services were quickly declared essential services by the Quebec government, we were able to maintain our activities.

By Jeanine Guindi, from our Insurance Law Practice Group

July 16, 2020 — The saying “The King can do no wrong” is no longer unquestionable. If, at some point in time, decisions by the State could not be challenged, the evolution of law made it possible to have the courts review some of them under particular circumstances. Recently, in Maltais c. Procureure générale du Québec, 2020 QCCA 715, the Court of Appeal held that the State could be a bad neighbour, but its immunity made it impossible for those who suffered the inconveniences to be compensated.

By Chantal Noël, from our Insurance Law Practice Group

July 8, 2020 — On July 1, Michigan Circuit Court Judge Joyce Draganchuk heard a motion by teleconference via Zoom. However, the hearing and the summary judgment rendered on the bench were broadcast live on YouTube on behalf of Judge Draganchuk. It is therefore a first and it will be interesting to see if our Quebec Courts will admit the video format, the recording of which is still available on YouTube, to plead precedents.

In this case (Gavrilides Management Co. v. Michigan Insurance Co., j. Joyce Draganchuk, July 1, 2020, Mason, 30th Circuit, Michigan, USA, https://youtu.be/Dsy4pA5NoPw), the insured, owner of two restaurants, claimed from its insurer the loss of business interruption since it had to close the restaurants following the orders of the authorities in the context of the pandemic linked to the coronavirus. The insurer brought a motion to dismiss this claim for which this judgment was rendered. It claimed that there was no direct physical damage as required by the terms of the insurance cover, namely that there would be coverage if the commercial activities were suspended but only if the suspension was caused by physical damage to the insured property. Finally, the insurer argued in the alternative that the virus exclusion applied.

On April 6, the Court of Appeal of Quebec released its decision in SNC-Lavalin inc. (Terratech inc. et SNC-Lavalin Environnement inc.) c. Deguise, 2020 QCCA 495.

Considering the importance of this decision for both the construction and insurance industries, RSS offers a series of infoletters discussing the main issues at stake.

By Mariella De Stefano, from our Insurance Law Practice Group

July 7, 2020 — This case is referred to as the “Pyrrhotite matter”, as this is one of the components found in the concrete utilized for the construction of certain buildings in the Trois-Rivières area. The pyrrhotite caused chemical reactions that triggered a structural weakness in the concrete used in the foundations of the buildings, giving rise to numerous litigations involving the participants to the construction as well as certain insurers.

By Stéphanie Beauchamp, from our Insurance Law Practice Group

July 7, 2020 — Among the actors involved in this legal saga, is SNC-Lavalin [“SNC”], which was covered by a complex insurance structure involving several insurers, designated as an “insurance tower”. This structure provided that each insurance policy was triggered following a pre-established sequence and applied until the exhaustion of its insurance amount, then triggering the next policy of the tower. This tower was based on a reference policy, which stated the general terms and conditions to be respected by the insurers, creating a system called “follow form”. SNC had subscribed a worldwide coverage, aiming for a protection in all of its business territories.