It is known that an insurer has a considerable duty to inform in group insurance. The Superior Court, in a decision by Justice Hélène Langlois, specified the extent of this duty in Tanguay et al v. L’Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec and The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company of North York, doing business under the name Manulife Financial(1) ...
The Court of Appeal rendered an important decision on October 31, 2006, which dealt with the liability of manufacturers and professional sellers, as well as several other related issues, in the case of The Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company of Canada and Prima Viande Ltd v. Manac inc./Nortex (manufacturer of the Arcoplast product) and Systèmes intérieurs Atlas inc ...
On October 18th, 2006, the Quebec Court of Appeal rendered a much-awaited decision regarding class actions. In Bouchard v. Agropur Coopérative et al,(1) the province’s highest court was called upon to rule on the issue of whether, when there is a multiplicity of defendants, it is necessary that a legal relationship exist between the petitioner applying for authorization to bring a class action and each defendant ...
Assuming that a foreign court exercises the power to issue letters rogatory or to appoint a commission to examine a witness in Quebec and to ask him to produce some documents, how can that be carried out in Quebec and is there a «blocking statute» protecting some of the documents?The Special Procedure Act (R.S.Q. c. P-27)The Special Procedure Act, Division VI (the «S.P.A.») governs rogatory commissions within Quebec for the purposes of a foreign lawsuit ...
A spectacular smash-up always draws a crowd. In the outsourcing world, where the wreckage is nearly always kept under wraps, that’s even more true. When a problem deal does break into view, it’s always worth watching for lessons in how to manage – or how not to manage – these complex transactions ...
The cause of an action in defamation exists to provide some recourse and remedy to victims of falsehoods which can and do cause injury to reputation. In a classic formulation, recently adopted and approved by Geopel J ...
Pursuant to the Act on Drugs, the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic has specified in annexes to this Decree details on forms to be used for prescriptions of drugs and medical aids. By this Decree, the Ministry also has set the sample forms of medical prescription, special medical prescription, medical reference, and extract from medical prescription, order and special order ...
The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) has proposed new regulations for rural onshore low stress pipelines and rural onshore gathering lines. Although PHMSA has been anticipating further regulation of these types of lines for the past few years, the Agency acknowledges that the proposed rule is a direct response to legislative and media scrutiny of recent incidents that occurred in the Alaska Prudhoe Bay field ...
As the poultry farming crisis looms and countries are on the lookout for outbreaks of infection, scientists are closely following the evolution of the virus, which is moving to new sources of infection.Before a crisis is on our doorstep, businesses should prepare themselves for the consequences of a high rate of absenteeism. Without exaggerating the risks, they should adopt preventive strategies and become aware of the legal ins and outs of their actions ...
On July 17, 2006, the Court of Appeal rendered a judgement concerning the duty of financial institutions making loans to inform and advise their clients.(1) This decision, written by Judge Jacques Chamberland, sheds further light on the obligations of group loan insurance policyholders. The facts In early June 1994, the Respondent, 9000-7048 Québec inc ...
On May 12, 2006, the Court of Appeal rendered a decision in a case involving the concept of intentional fault.(1) This judgement, written by Judge Louis Rochette, once again further complicates the idea of an intentional fault committed by an insured. I. The facts Assurances générales des Caisses Desjardins Inc. (referred to herein as “Desjardins”) insured Mr. Fournier’s property. In May 1999, Mr. Fournier committed suicide by setting his home on fire ...
Interdisciplinary collaborations and partnering across the medical research and life sciences sectors are becoming increasingly common. Large corporations with good industry reputations and large research budgets are seeking to collaborate with smaller companies developing next-generation products. Equally, smaller companies are coming together to share complementary know-how and technologies and to work together in the global marketplace ...
On 14 July 2006, the Hong Kong and Mainland China Governments signed a ground-breaking agreement, rather lengthily entitled "An Arrangement on Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region pursuant to Choice of Court Agreements between Parties Concerned" (Arrangement), under which they agreed to recognise and enforce judgments made in each others courts ...
Although the United Kingdom comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, this guide relates only to the current position in England and Wales because Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own individual legal systems. The rules and procedure of the Civil Courts in England and Wales are contained in the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) which were introduced in 1999 and which lay down the framework within which all civil litigation must be conducted ...
On June 29, 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada, in a decision written by Judges McLachlin and Abella, reinstated the judgment of the Supreme Court of British Columbia and set aside the $100,000 award for punitive damages of the Court of Appeal. At the same time, it upheld the judgment rendered by the two lower courts and condemned Sun Life to pay the insured $20,000 in compensatory damages for mental distress caused by the breach of the disability insurance contract ...
ALERT Hospital May Be Excluded For Physician Recruiting On May 8, 2006 the OIG announced that it intends to exclude San Diego-based Alvarado Hospital from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and all other federal health care programs because of payments the Hospital made under relocation agreements involving placement of newly-recruited physicians in established physician practices ...
Certificate of Need Strategies for New Nursing Home Beds Special Population Beds are Re-Approved At its March 2006 meeting, the Michigan Certificate of Need (“CON”) Commission took action to re-approve several state-wide pools of nursing home beds that are set aside to serve special populations, including: Alzheimer’s Use 60 beds Hospice 30 beds Religious Use 20 beds The Commission reserved 22 special population beds on a non-specified basis for future use ...
IN OUR JUNE 2005 “FDA WATCH” column, we provided an overview of the regulatory, political, and scientific landscape for follow-on biological products in the U.S. As reported a year ago, the biogenerics debate centers around whether generic biologics are scientifically possible (i.e ...
Scope of this treatiseThe purpose of this discussion is to address those cases which are most likely to have a significant effect for those practicing in the chemical, pharmaceutical and biotech areas ...
In a long-awaited judgment, the Court of First Instance of the European Communities (“CFI”) partially upheld on December 14, 2005, the European Commission’s decision of July 3, 2001 to block the proposed acquisition of Honeywell International Inc. (“Honeywell”) by General Electric Company (“GE”). In its decision, the Commission had considered that the merger should be blocked for three sets of reasons ...
Since its creation by Decree-Law No. 10/2003 of January 18, the new Portuguese Competition Authority (“PCA”) has analysed more than 150 concentrations. It is said to analyse around 5 concentrations a month. In 2004 and 2005, the PCA reported 130 notified concentrations, 125 of which had issued decisions and 11 cases in which said decisions were reached following second phase proceedings ...
In April 2005 a new Disability Discrimination Act was passed by Westminster. The Act extends existing non-discrimination legislation, primarily the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. While some provisions of the Act came into force in December 2005, many others will be coming into force over the course of 2006. It is essential that businesses are aware of their new responsibilities under the Act and prepare for its implementation ...
The courts have always considered Quebec’s class action legislation to be strictly procedural and not modifying substantive law. Normally a person can only sue if he has a legal relationship with the defendant, meaning that he has a personal right of action. Thus, in the case of Bouchard v. Agropur coopérative et al,1 Mr. Justice J. Viens refused to authorize Bouchard to institute a class action against dairies from which he had not purchased milk. However, Mr. Justice M ...
On December 31, 2005, amendments to Ontario’s Securities Act will come into effect to provide investors with a new recourse against companies and their directors, officers, employees and consultants for any misrepresentation in their public documents or public oral statements, or for failure to make timely disclosure of material changes in the company’s circumstances ...
The recent decision of the Court of Quebec, Small Claims Division, in the case of Spénard v. Promutuel Bois-Francs, société mutuelle d’assurance générale,1 revisited the issue of the right of an insurer to seek the nullity of an insurance policy based on an insured’s failure to disclose a prior conviction under the Young Offenders Act. The Plaintiff claimed $5,100 from his insurer for property stolen from his home between January 24 and January 27, 2003 ...
