Case information
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39912
Gershon (Jerry) Greif, in his capacity as liquidator of the estate of the late Tauba (Tusia) Magien v. Samuel Luft
(Quebec) (Civil) (By Leave)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-04-27 | Close file on Leave | |
| 2022-04-21 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2022-04-21 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2022-04-21 |
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 500-09-028229-193, 2021 QCCA 1387, dated September 14, 2021 is dismissed. Dismissed |
|
| 2022-03-21 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2022-02-25 | Notice of name | Samuel Luft |
| 2022-02-25 | Certificate (on limitations to public access) | Samuel Luft |
| 2022-02-03 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2022-02-21, (Printed version filed on 2022-02-11) | Gershon (Jerry) Greif, in his capacity as liquidator of the estate of the late Tauba (Tusia) Magien |
| 2022-01-24 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Letter Form), require: form 23A, form 14 (rec'd 2022-02-25), Completed on: 2022-03-18, (Printed version filed on 2022-01-24) | Samuel Luft |
| 2021-12-13 | Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal, FILE OPENED 2021-12-13 | |
| 2021-11-12 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), (Printed version filed on 2021-11-16) | Gershon (Jerry) Greif, in his capacity as liquidator of the estate of the late Tauba (Tusia) Magien |
| 2021-11-12 | Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), (5 volumes), Completed on: 2021-11-12, (Printed version filed on 2021-11-16) | Gershon (Jerry) Greif, in his capacity as liquidator of the estate of the late Tauba (Tusia) Magien |
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
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Gershon (Jerry) Greif, in his capacity as liquidator of the estate of the late Tauba (Tusia) Magien | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Luft, Samuel | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Gershon (Jerry) Greif, in his capacity as liquidator of the estate of the late Tauba (Tusia) Magien
Counsel
Michaëlla Bouchard-Racine
Edward Figlarz
1155 René-Lévesque Ouest
Suite 1715
Montréal, Quebec
H3B 2K8
Telephone: (514) 288-6180 Ext: 229
FAX: (514) 288-8908
Email: jhgrey@greycasgrain.net
Party: Luft, Samuel
Counsel
Samuel Lalancette
Place du Canada - Bureau 2100
1010, rue De La Gauchetière Ouest
Montréal, Quebec
H3B 2N2
Telephone: (514) 866-3514
FAX: (514) 866-0038
Email: jlemoine@ravinskyryan.com
Summary
Keywords
Prescription — Extinctive prescription — Suspension — Impossibility to act — Whether an elderly person who is vulnerable and in a relationship of trust with a family member is in the impossibility to act, in the sense of art. 2904 of the Civil Code of Québec — Whether money that is borrowed from a vulnerable elderly person can be acquired through extinctive prescription, given the law of trusts — Whether the Court of Appeal erred in changing the date that prescription started running against the applicant, given that the trial judge fixed the date after the hearing and evaluating the credibility of all other evidence.
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.
The applicant, Gershon (Jerry) Greif, is the son and sole heir and liquidator of the estate of his deceased mother, Tauba Magien Greif (“Tusia”). The respondent, Samuel Luft, is the nephew by marriage of Tusia and was a financial portfolio manager. After Tusia’s death in 2014, the applicant found financial documents suggesting Tusia had given large sums of money to the respondent. The applicant sent a mise en demeure in September 2016 and instituted an action against the respondent claiming the unpaid sums of $852,552 in October 2016. The respondent claimed he had paid back everything owed. He also pleaded that the action was prescribed since his last payment to Tusia dated back to 2004 and he had given her a statement of account at that time summarizing all money refunded.
The Superior Court of Quebec granted the applicant’s action in part and ordered the respondent to pay the applicant $541,593.44. It held the action was not prescribed since the applicant only discovered the claim in 2014. It rejected the argument that the prescriptive period began running in 2004, since Tusia was in the impossibility to act, which suspended the period. The Quebec Court of Appeal unanimously allowed the appeal and dismissed the action, holding that the action was prescribed. The conclusion that Tusia was in the impossibility to act thereby suspending prescription was incompatible with the evidence.
Lower court rulings
Superior Court of Quebec
2019 QCCS 637, 500-17-096167-161
Applicant’s action granted in part; respondent’s application to dismiss action as abusive and frivolous dismissed; declaration that action not prescribed; respondent ordered to pay applicant sum of $541,593.44
Court of Appeal of Quebec (Montréal)
2021 QCCA 1387, 500-09-028229-193
Appeal allowed, action dismissed
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
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Related links
Factums on appeal
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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.
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