Case information

Constitutional law — Charter of Rights — Fundamental justice — Individual applicant declared to be “quarrelsome litigant” — Whether defendant has right to bring proceedings without being declared quarrelsome litigant — Whether accused person, to be found to be quarrelsome litigant, must match all indicators of quarrelsomeness — Whether it is discriminatory in litigation to accuse unrepresented litigant of quarrelsomeness for filing only three proceedings — Whether it is reasonable in free and democratic society to allow judges to state that unrepresented litigant can be found to be quarrelsome litigant for being [TRANSLATION] “instigator of multiple proceedings” — Whether that conclusion sends clear message to public that litigants risk being deprived of their right to full and complete justice — Whether proceeding by defendant in Court of Appeal is not direct effect of prior application — Whether Court of Appeal’s decision will have very serious and negative effect on general public’s perception of courts — Whether accused person can be found to be quarrelsome litigant if they meet only one criterion but do not have all indicators of quarrelsomeness — For litigant to be found quarrelsome, whether context must be excessive and unreasonable — Whether applicant has suffered cruel and unusual treatment as prohibited by s. 12 of Charter — Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ss. 7, 12 — Code of Civil Procedure, CQLR, c. C-25.01, arts. 55, 87 — Regulation of the Superior Court of Québec in civil matters, CQLR, c. C-25.01, r. 0.2.1. s. 68.

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.

In 2019, the respondent Pareclemco inc. sued a company owned by the applicant Serge Lapierre for repayment of loans; Pareclemco later amended its application to include Mr. Lapierre personally. In 2024, Pareclemco filed an application to have Mr. Lapierre declared a “quarrelsome litigant” and prohibited from instituting any new proceeding and signing or producing pleadings on behalf of himself or his companies. The Quebec Superior Court granted Pareclemco’s motion and declared Mr. Lapierre a “quarrelsome litigant”; it also prohibited him from instituting any new proceeding, on behalf of himself or his companies, without prior authorization. The Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed Mr. Lapierre’s appeal.