A wealthy businessman was ordered to pay $2.4 million to his former common law-former partner as he left the relationship with a disproportionate share of the wealth accumulated by the parties’ joint efforts, held the Quebec Court of Appeal.
The appeal court decision, the latest in a slow but steady line of rulings that signals a steady evolution in the way Quebec courts are dealing with legal issues stemming from de facto couples, reaffirms that former common law spouses can make claims of unjust enrichment and be granted monetary awards when they are able to prove that the partners were engaged in a joint family venture, according to family law experts.