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Case information

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35495

Jean St-Arnaud v. Christine Laplante, et al.

(Quebec) (Civil) (By Leave)

(Sealing order)

Docket

Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.

List of proceedings
Date Proceeding Filed By
(if applicable)
2014-01-17 Close file on Leave
2014-01-17 Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties
2014-01-17 Judgment on leave sent to the parties
2014-01-16 Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Quebec (Montréal), Number 500-09-021771-118, 2013 QCCA 981, dated May 27, 2013, is dismissed with costs.
Dismissed, with costs
2013-12-09 All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, LeB Ka Wa
2013-12-09 All material on the application for leave to cross-appeal submitted to the Judges, LeB Ka Wa
2013-09-20 Application for leave to cross-appeal, (Book Form), included in the response in volume 2, Completed on: 2013-09-20 Christine Laplante
2013-09-20 Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Two volumes, 6 sealed envelopes filed, and 2 cds( one is SEALED). Service to come (rec'd 2013-09-24), Completed on: 2013-09-24 Christine Laplante
2013-08-27 Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal
2013-08-26 Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-08-26 Jean St-Arnaud

Parties

Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.

Main parties

Main parties - Appellants
Name Role Status
St-Arnaud, Jean Applicant Active

v.

Main parties - Respondents
Name Role Status
Laplante, Christine Respondent Active
Stéphane Jacques, in his personal capacity and as tutor to his minor child William Jacques Respondent Active

Counsel

Party: St-Arnaud, Jean

Counsel
Claude Jarry
Me Philippe Dufort-Langlois
McCarthy Tétrault, s.e.n.c.r.l., s.r.l.
1150, rue De Claire-Fontaine
7ième étage
Québec, Quebec
G1R 5G4
Telephone: (418) 521-3038
FAX: (418) 521-3098
Email: cjarry@mccarthy.ca
Agent
Henry S. Brown, Q.C.
Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP
2600 - 160 Elgin St
P.O. Box 466, Stn "D"
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 233-1781
FAX: (613) 788-3433
Email: henry.brown@gowlings.com

Party: Laplante, Christine

Counsel
Gloriane Blais
5284, rue Frontenac
Bureau 201, c.p. 96
Lac-Mégantic, Quebec
G6B 2S5
Telephone: (819) 583-2776
FAX: (819) 583-2483
Email: gloriane.blais@sympatico.ca

Party: Stéphane Jacques, in his personal capacity and as tutor to his minor child William Jacques

Counsel
Gloriane Blais
5284, rue Frontenac
Bureau 201, c.p. 96
Lac-Mégantic, Quebec
G6B 2S5
Telephone: (819) 583-2776
FAX: (819) 583-2483
Email: gloriane.blais@sympatico.ca

Summary

Keywords

None.

Summary

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

Delictual liability – Professional liability – Bodily injury – Evidence – Reservation of right to apply for additional damages if course of creditor’s physical condition cannot be determined with sufficient precision at time of judgment – Whether court that reserves right under art. 1615 C.C.Q. can refuse to decide merits of part of claim made by plaintiffs – Civil Code of Québec, S.Q. 1991, c. 64, art. 1615.

The respondents are the parents of a child who was born prematurely in 2002 at 30 weeks’ gestation. They instituted an action against the applicant Dr. St Arnaud and a health and social services centre, blaming them for the complications suffered by their child, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and sensory regulation disorder. They claimed damages on their own behalf and on behalf of their child.

The Superior Court allowed the action against Dr. St Arnaud. Tôth J. found that the fault committed by Dr. St Arnaud had prevented the child’s normal development as a result of the premature birth. He ordered Dr. St Arnaud to pay certain amounts. Under art. 1615 of the C.C.Q., he also reserved the father’s right to apply, on the child’s behalf, for additional damages for a period of three years, since he was of the opinion that, although there was definite, present and actual injury resulting from Dr. St Arnaud’s fault, the course of the child’s physical condition could not be determined with sufficient precision. In particular, the judge noted that the child was nine years old and that the experts feared he had a learning disability that could affect the realization of his full potential as well as his earning capacity. The start of secondary school and puberty would be [TRANSLATION] “decisive steps” (para. 429). The Court of Appeal dismissed Dr. St Arnaud’s appeal.

Lower court rulings

June 16, 2011
Superior Court of Quebec

480-17-000009-058

Action in delictual liability allowed in part

May 27, 2013
Court of Appeal of Quebec (Montréal)

2013 QCCA 981, 500-09-021771-118

Appeal dismissed; incidental appeal dismissed

Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal

The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filing out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.

If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.

Downloadable PDFs

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Factums on appeal

The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.

If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.

Downloadable PDFs

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Webcasts

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Date modified: 2025-02-27