Important victory for Woods

Oubliés du viaduc de la Montée Monette v Consultants SM Inc et al, 2015 QCCS 3308

Woods once again succeeded in dismissing a class action at the authorization stage. In this case, our firm represented Genivar inc. (now doing business under the name of WSP) in a class action worth several million dollars brought by a group of residents from the municipalities of Saint-Mathieu, Saint-Philippe, Saint-Michel, Saint-Édouard and Saint-Jacques-le-Mineur. The group was seeking damages to compensate economic losses and inconvenience resulting from the detours caused by the refection work of an overpass overlooking Highway 15. Our client was responsible for overseeing the refection work.

In a judgment rendered on July 15, 2015, Justice Marie-Claude Lalande denied authorization of the class action and agreed with our arguments. Justice Lalande held that in order for our client to be liable, the residents had to establish that Genivar had a legal obligation distinct from their contractual obligations, which they failed to do.

This decision clarifies extremely important issues relating to delays on construction sites and the liability of parties involved, especially since major infrastructure works on the Turcot interchange and the new Champlain Bridge are underway in Quebec.