Case information

Prescription — Acquisitive prescription — Servitude of right of way — Interversion of title — Whether Quebec Court of Appeal erred in requiring that applicant prove interversion of title within meaning of art. 2914 of Civil Code of Québec — Whether Court of Appeal erred in not recognizing applicant as owner of lot 5 580 253 by acquisitive prescription — Whether Court of Appeal erred in recognizing respondent, Stephen J. Shiller, as owner of parts A and D of lot 5 580 253 — Whether Court of Appeal erred in not ordering respondent to pay compensatory and exemplary damages and to reimburse applicant’s extrajudicial fees — Civil Code of Québec, arts. 922, 924, 936, 1191, 2914 and 2917.

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, Mariette Morin Gonthier, is the owner of a residence located on Chemin Tour du Lac in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts. She has a servitude of right of way on a lot giving her direct access to Lac des Sables from the public road. The lot on which the site of the servitude is located is divided into four parts, identified as A to D. It appears that the owner of the lot in question was untraceable, and, therefore, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code of Québec, the lot was considered to be a thing without an owner belonging to the state. Since the state did not exercise any possession and did not claim ownership of the lot, the acquisitive prescription rules in the Civil Code of Québec applied. In this case, both parties claimed ownership of the entire lot, which they believed they had acquired by acquisitive prescription. The Superior Court dismissed Ms. Morin Gonthier’s application as well as her application for a declaration of abuse and for damages. However, it allowed Mr. Shiller’s application in part, recognizing his ownership of parts A and D of the lot subject to respect for the servitudes of right of way charging the lot. It dismissed his application for a declaration of abuse and for damages. The Court of Appeal dismissed Ms. Morin Gonthier’s appeal.