Montreal’s 4,500 men and women in blue literally heaved a huge sigh of relief after companion decisions by the Quebec Court of Appeal held that a bill introduced by the Quebec government does not apply to their defined pension plan.
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Supreme Court holds rioters not solidarily liable for damages to police cars
Rioters who damaged police cars after a Montreal hockey game can only be held liable for the specific damage they caused personally, and cannot be held responsible for damage caused by other rioters to the same vehicle, ruled the Supreme Court of Canada, capping off a week to forget for the City of Montreal.In a 6-1 decision, the nation’s highest court provided guidance on when solidary liability attaches to wrongful acts under the Civil Code of Quebec, days after the city lost two major decisions dealing with pension matters before the Quebec Court of Appeal.
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Quebec judge stays insider trading trial against former Amaya CEO
Gaffes by the Quebec’s financial watchdog prompted a Quebec judge to stay charges of insider trading and market manipulation against former online gambling mogul David Baazov and his co-accused. -
Three Court of Quebec judges appointed
Quebec Minister of Justice Stéphanie Vallée announced the appointment of three more Court of Quebec judges, with Stéphane Davignon and Luc Huppé appointed to the civil division in Montreal and Dany Pilon to the youth division in Saint-Jérôme.
Davignon, a graduate from the Université de Montréal, was admitted to the Barreau du Québec in 1994 and became a partner with Clément Davignon in 1998.
Huppé, admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1984 after graduating from Université Laval, was a partner with de Grandpré Joli-Cœur since 2008. He has been an assessor with the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal since 2009. He has also written extensively; his latest tome is entitled “La déontologie de la magistrature Droit canadien – Perspective internationale.”
Pilon began her career working with the City of Montreal after being admitted to the Bar in 1990. A graduate of the l’Université de Montréal, she has been working with the Centre communautaire juridique Laurentides-Lanaudière since 1999.
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Legal aid eligibility thresholds increased but lawyers still shunning cases
The Quebec government increased legal aid eligibility thresholds by 6.67 per cent, but that’s not good enough, asserts to the Quebec Bar.Tags: legal aid -
Trials are not tea parties, holds Supreme Court of Canada
In a decision that is bound to spur much debate, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed a series of complaints against a Toronto securities litigator who was found to have breached the rules of civil courtroom behaviour during his aggressive but successful defence of a man charged in the billion-dollar Bre-X mining fiasco.Categories: Supreme Court of CanadaTags: incivility -
Naturopath found guilty of manslaughter by Quebec Court of Appeal
In a highly unusual and exceptional decision, the Quebec Court of Appeal has overturned a Westmount naturopath’s acquittal and convicted her of manslaughter in the death of a patient that took place 10 years ago. -
Most U.S. & EU companies still not prepared for new privacy law
The majority of European and American firms are not yet ready to comply with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), reveals a recent report.
Many organizations fail to give the GDPR the attention it deserves, according to “Seizing the GDPR Advantage: From Mandate to High-Value Opportunity,” a report by France-based legal tech consultant Capgemini that surveyed 1,000 executives and 6,000 consumers.
The report notes that nearly one in five organizations fail to make the GDPR a top priority, 31 per cent feel that the sole purpose of their program is to comply with the mandate by the deadline, and only 28 per cent see the GDPR as an opportunity to gain consumer trust and competitive advantage, in addition to being a compliance mandate. Moreover, it reveals that 51 per cent of organizations are either lagging or feel they will be only partially compliant by the deadline.
The report underscores that there is a “significant perception gap” between organizations and consumers around consumer data privacy and security performance. A staggering 80 per cent of executives believe that consumers trust their organization with the privacy and security of personal data. Consumers have a different take: only 52% of consumers agree with executives.
“This overconfidence can blind organizations to the improvements they need to make in data practices and prevent sufficient investment,” said the report. “Such organizations will eventually lose out as consumers increasingly demand a best in-class data protection experience.”
The global tech consultant leader strongly argues that GDPR is in fact a new opportunity waiting to be tapped but only for “organizations that get it right.” Besides enhancing employee loyalty, it maintains that consumers are “more willing to engage with organizations that protect data.”
When consumers are convinced that an organization is protecting their personal data in line with the GDPR mandate, nearly half would share their positive experiences with friends and family. Just as importantly, more than one in three consumers (39 per cent) will spend more with an organization when convinced that the organization protects their personal data.
More ominously, over 70 per cent of consumers said they are prepared to decrease spend and stop doing business with organizations in breach of GDPR compliance. In addition, 64 per cent of consumers said they are likely to request non-EU companies to delete their data if they find organizations non-compliant once the GDPR comes into effect.
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Alleged PlexCorps founder ordered to hand bitcoins to Quebec financial watchdog
A Quebec City businessman believed by Quebec’s financial watchdog and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to be behind PlexCorps, a controversial cryptocurrency start-up accused of fraudulently selling up to millions of dollars’ worth of tokens, has been ordered to hand all bitcoins in his possession within 48 hours, ruled the Quebec Financial Markets Administrative Tribunal. -
Town ordered to pay legal expenses of former mayor
A small Quebec town was ordered to pay the legal expenses of its former mayor after Quebec Superior Court held in a harshly-worded decision that he did not deserve the treatment he suffered.
Former Saint-Constant mayor Gilles Pépin was the target of a series of anti-corruption raids on February 2013 and faced charges of fraud, breach of trust, municipal corruption and conspiracy. The day before a preliminary hearing was scheduled to take place, the matter was abruptly dropped.
Pépin then sued the town for $92,000 for legal fees he incurred to defend himself, relying on article 606.6 of the Quebec Cities and Towns Act, which states that a municipality will assume the defence or representation of an accused by reason of the person’s alleged act or omission in the performance of his duties as a member of the council or as an officer or employee of the municipality. The town refused, asserting that the acts committed by Pépin were not committed in the performance of his duties, that Pépin did not face a trial and was therefore not acquitted, and that perhaps the investigation into Pépin was not yet completed.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Kirkland Casgrain was hardly impressed. “Pépin was not acquitted?” rhetorically asked Justice Casgrain in Pépin c. Ville de Saint-Constant 2018 QCCS 2165. “Hold on. He was never deemed to be even accused. What else is needed? That Pépin prove that he was innocent of accusations that were never laid against him? The dossier against him may not be completed? What does the defense lawyer want? A declaration by the (provincial anti-corruption unit) that it will not charge Pépin?”
It turns out that Pépin was the victim of dirty politics. An investigation was launched against Pépin by the Quebec anti-corruption unit after being denounced by a rival political organizer.
The town was ordered to pay him $92,600 in legal fees he incurred to defend himself, and $35,000 for legal expenses he incurred to launch the civil suit.
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Federal Auditor General blasts military justice
The Canadian Armed Forces’ failure to administer the military justice system efficiently has led to 10 court-martial cases to have been dropped since January 2016, revealed a damning report by the federal auditor general.Categories: CanadaTags: military justice -
Quebec Court of Appeal comes down harder on pedophile
On December 2014 Cenan Rayo, a thirty-something Columbian native and the father of a ten-month old infant, sent an invitation on Facebook to a 12-year old girl to become his “friend.” Rayo, while not a family friend, knew the mother because they were part of a small Columbian community, and ran across each other in different places, including the local church. And so the girl who knew the man since she was five accepted the invitation.Tags: luring -
Quebec judge certifies class-action lawsuit against Just for Laughs founder Gilbert Rozon
A class action launched by 20 women who allege they were sexually assaulted or harassed by the founder of Just for Laughs was certified by Quebec Superior Court.In a 36-page ruling, Quebec Superior Justice Donald Bisson highlighted that class actions have “shown their value” in sexual assault cases because they have allowed “hundreds of victims” access to justice.
“If the plaintiff was not authorized to file the current class action, it is highly likely that many victims would be deprived of their ability to exercise their rights,” said Justice Bisson in Les Courageuses c. Rochon 2018 QCCS 2089. A class action “like this one allows all victims to understand that they are not alone, that the assaults are not their fault and that if they have the courage to come forward to denounce the sexual abuse committed against them, they will make the versions of the other victims more likely.”
Gilbert Rozon, also the subject of a criminal investigation, has denied the allegations. He unsuccessfully argued that “the fact of being charming while using his power was not in itself a fault,” that it was necessary to question “the consent of the alleged victims which happens in their heads and for which Rozon is not responsible,” and that the class representative — Patricia Tuslane, the only one to publicly come forward – did not offer material evidence to buttress her allegations.
The class action is seeking up to $400,000 in moral damages for each individual complainant, and a total of $10 million for the group in punitive damages.
