Case information

Civil procedure — Abuse of process — Whether Court of Appeal should have recognized that trial judge did not have jurisdiction to render judgment, that is, that there had been failure to comply with art. 157 of Code of Civil Procedure, CQLR, c. C 25.01, case with special case management, in addition to erroneous application of arts. 177, 51 and 53 C.C.P. — Whether trial judge and Court of Appeal, in failing to comply with art. 157 C.C.P., erred by not recognizing complexity of case, fact that respondent had changed its theory of case in 2021 and fact that case was ready to proceed — If trial judge and Court of Appeal considered error of applicants’ counsel with regard to time limits and other matters in this case, whether they could make applicants bear resulting prejudice and could thus enter stay of proceedings in their legal action — Whether procedure should prevail over substance, what is in best interests of justice, and whether there was breach of principle of natural justice, namely right to be heard.

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In December 2008, the applicants, Ferme Louman 2005 enr., the estate of the late Herman Roussel (following Mr. Roussel’s death in 2019) and Jacinthe Gagnon, filed an application for damages against the respondent, Hydro Québec. They alleged that the electricity distribution network operated by the respondent was the source of stray voltage, which explained various problems observed in the herd of dairy cows since 1996. The respondent applied for the dismissal of the applicants’ action in light of the presumed discontinuance and, in the alternative, for the dismissal of the action for abuse of procedure. The Quebec Superior Court did not consider the action to have been abandoned. However, finding that the applicants had shown disrespect for the justice system, it granted the respondent’s motion to dismiss the applicants’ action on the basis of abuse of procedure, and it dismissed the applicants’ action. The applicants applied for leave to appeal from the trial judgment, but the application was dismissed by the Quebec Court of Appeal because the questions raised by the applicants were not such as to merit the court’s attention.