The Supreme Court of Canada (the "S.C.C." ) today granted leave to appeal to Domfer Metal Powers Limited, represented by Davies, in the case of Domfer Metal Powders Limited v. Comité d'environnement de Ville Émard (C.E.V.E.) and Patrice Michaud, a case which has significant repercussions for all businesses operating in Québec.  In this case, the Québec Court of Appeal found Domfer liable, based on general principles of civil liability under the Civil Code of Québec, to pay compensation to its neighbours for the emissions of noise, odours and dust from two of its manufacturing plants in LaSalle, without regard whatsoever to its compliance with the complex and comprehensive web of statutes and regulations governing the environment, including the Environment Quality Act.  This case raises the potential liability of a company operating in Québec for causing environmental inconveniences to its neighbours, and the S.C.C. will be called upon to determine the extent to which compliance with ever growing legislative environmental standards should be relevant to a finding of liability.  This case also marks the first time that the S.C.C. will hear an environmental class action emanating from Québec, and will provide much-needed guidance to the Québec courts as to the principles governing this relatively new and complex area of law. [1]  

This case, along with the case of Bisaillon v. Concordia University ("Concordia''), where Davies successfully represented Concordia before the S.C.C., and the case of Bruker v. Marcovitz, which is still pending before the S.C.C., marks the third time in a little over a year in which a party has turned to Davies, after losing before the Québec Court of Appeal, to represent it before the S.C.C., due to Davies' unparalleled experience in high level appellate work.  Davies obtained leave to appeal in all three cases. 

Davies is continuously at the forefront of high profile class action defense work and this case can be added to Davies’ ever-growing list of recent cases, including Concordia, Option Consommateurs v. Pharmascience  and Bou Malhab v. Métromédia.  

For information concerning this case or to obtain further information about Davies' appellate or class action practice, please contact Guy Du Pont, Marc-André Boutin or Brandon Wiener in the Montréal office at (514) 841-6400.    

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, with over 235 lawyers, practises nationally and internationally from offices in Toronto, Montréal, New York and an affiliate in Paris and is consistently at the heart of the largest and most complex commercial and financial matters on behalf of its North American and overseas clients. 

The information and comments herein are for the general information of the reader and are not intended as advice or opinions to be relied upon in relation to any particular circumstance. For particular applications of the law to specific situations, the reader should seek professional advice.

[1]    This case will be heard at the same time as St. Lawrence Cement Inc. v. Huguette Barrette and Claude Cochrane, in his capacity of representing the designated group, another important environmental class
action case.