François Laurin-Pratte François Laurin-Pratte

Québec Court of Appeal harmonizes Canadian law by prohibiting pre-leave discovery in securities class actions

A Québec Court of Appeal decision in Amaya inc. c. Derome harmonizes the law across Canadian provinces with regard to the prohibition against...

Québec Court of Appeal confirms application of French language requirements for websites

The Court of Appeal confirmed the constitutional validity of the provisions of the Québec Charter of the French Language that require the joint or...

Is a franchisee an employee?

The nature of the franchise agreement is that the franchisor exercises some control over the way the franchisee operates its company.

“Who did I make a deal with?” – the sequel: Québec Court of Appeal confirms authorization of a consumer class action for false representations against a franchisor

On November 17, 2016, we published a blog post on a Superior Court of Québec judgment that authorized a consumer class action against, among others,...

Québec Superior Court reaffirms the federal government’s exclusive jurisdiction over telecommunications

In Vidéotron c. Ville de Gatineau, 2017 QCCS 3571, the Québec Superior Court invalidated bylaws adopted by the cities of Gatineau and Terrebonne....

Supreme Court of Canada confirms the validity of perpetual contracts

In a ruling dated July 28, 2017, a majority of the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the validity of perpetual contracts in Québec law.

The importance of signing a proper franchise agreement

The case of Duchesneau c. Gestion Milsa inc., 2017 QCCS 1593 serves as a reminder of the importance of signing a franchise agreement before starting...

The Court of Appeal confirms that the franchisor’s duty to inform can extend to third parties

In the case of Camions Daimler Canada ltée c. Camions Sterling de Lévis inc., 2017 QCCA 798, the Court of Appeal confirmed that the duty to inform...

Estimating franchise start-up costs: A shared responsibility

In a recent decision, the Superior Court of Québec reiterated that the franchisor has an obligation to inform a prospective franchisee of start-up...

Franchisors: Beware of consumer class actions

Consumers often assume that they are dealing with a franchisor, when, in fact, they are transacting with a franchisee that uses the franchisor’s...