Case information
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37898
Desjardins Financial Services Firm Inc., et al. v. Ronald Asselin
(Quebec) (Civil) (By Leave)
Docket
Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-03-30 | Appeal closed | |
| 2023-03-30 | Correspondence (sent by the Court) to, all parties, Re: certificate of taxation | |
| 2023-03-28 | Certificate of taxation issued to, Pierre Landry (original sent to respondent and electronic copy sent to all parties on 2023-03-30) | |
| 2023-03-28 | Decision on the bill of costs, in the amount of $9,609.24, Reg | |
| 2023-03-28 | Submission of the bill of costs, Reg | |
| 2020-11-24 | Bill of costs, Completed on: 2021-09-15 | Ronald Asselin |
| 2020-11-02 | Formal judgment sent to the registrar of the court of appeal and all parties | |
| 2020-11-02 | Judgment on appeal and notice of deposit of judgment sent to all parties | |
| 2020-10-30 |
Judgment on the appeal rendered, CJ Abe Mo Ka Côt Br Row Mar Kas, The appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Quebec (Montréal), Number 500-09-025896-168, 2017 QCCA 1673, dated October 31, 2017, heard on December 5, 2019, is allowed in part solely for the purpose of varying paras. 8 and 9 of the Court of Appeal’s judgment so that they read as follows: [TRANSLATION] [8] IDENTIFIES as follows the principal questions of fact and of law to be dealt with collectively: . . . 8.Damages. Based on the answers to the previous questions, are Desjardins Financial Services Firm Inc. and Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. liable: . . . c) to pay each member of the group one thousand dollars ($1,000) in punitive damages solely in relation to “Unaffected Claims” within the meaning of article 1 of the Third Amended Plan of Compromise and Arrangement approved by order of the Ontario Superior Court dated January 12, 2009 (ATB Financial c. Metcalfe & Mansfield Alternative Investments II Corp. (2008), 43 C.B.R. (5th) 269), subject to adjustment, with interest at the legal rate and the additional indemnity from the date of the judgment to be rendered? [9] IDENTIFIES as follows the principal conclusions sought on the merits in the class action, it being understood that whether the awards set out below are in solidum depends on the answer, if any, given by the Superior Court to the final portion of question 6, as defined at paragraph [8] above: . . . ORDER each of the respondents to pay each member of the group one thousand dollars ($1,000) in punitive damages solely in relation to “Unaffected Claims” within the meaning of article 1 of the Third Amended Plan of Compromise and Arrangement approved by order of the Ontario Superior Court dated January 12, 2009 (ATB Financial c. Metcalfe & Mansfield Alternative Investments II Corp. (2008), 43 C.B.R. (5th) 269), subject to adjustment, with interest at the legal rate and the additional indemnity from the date of the judgment to be rendered, and ORDER the collective recovery of these amounts. Costs throughout are awarded to the respondent. Moldaver, Côté and Rowe JJ. dissent in part. Allowed in part, with costs |
|
| 2019-12-13 | Transcript received, 98 pages | |
| 2019-12-05 | Judgment reserved OR rendered with reasons to follow | |
| 2019-12-05 |
Hearing of the appeal, 2019-12-05, CJ Abe Mo Ka Côt Br Row Mar Kas Judgment reserved |
|
| 2019-12-05 | Respondent's condensed book, (Book Form), Submitted in Court (14 copies) | Ronald Asselin |
| 2019-12-05 | Appellant's condensed book, (Book Form), Submitted in Court (14 copies) | Desjardins Financial Services Firm Inc. |
| 2019-11-27 | Appeal perfected for hearing | |
| 2019-11-20 | Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Bruce W. Johnston, Mathieu Charest-Beaudry, François Lebeau, Serge Létourneau, Audrey Létourneau, Julien Deslisle, Guy Paquette and Christophe Perron-Martel will appear before the court. Mr. Johnston will present oral arguments. | Ronald Asselin |
| 2019-11-20 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), RE: Number of counsel appearing. | Ronald Asselin |
| 2019-11-20 | Notice of appearance, (Letter Form), Mason Poplaw, Isabelle Vendette, Samuel Lepage and Gabriel Faure will appear before the court. Mr. Poplaw will present oral arguments. | Desjardins Financial Services Firm Inc. |
| 2019-11-19 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form) | Ronald Asselin |
| 2019-11-19 | Respondent's record, (Book Form), Completed on: 2019-11-19 | Ronald Asselin |
| 2019-11-19 | Respondent's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2019-11-19 | Ronald Asselin |
| 2019-11-19 | Respondent's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2019-11-19 | Ronald Asselin |
| 2019-10-22 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), 4 reserved seats requested. | Desjardins Financial Services Firm Inc. |
| 2019-10-01 | Certificate of counsel (attesting to record), (Letter Form) | Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc., a lawfully constituted legal person, formerly Desjardins Asset Management Inc. |
| 2019-10-01 | Appellant's record, (Book Form), (13 volumes), Completed on: 2019-10-01 | Desjardins Financial Services Firm Inc. |
| 2019-10-01 | Appellant's book of authorities, (Book Form), Completed on: 2019-10-01 | Desjardins Financial Services Firm Inc. |
| 2019-10-01 | Appellant's factum, (Book Form), Completed on: 2019-10-01 | Desjardins Financial Services Firm Inc. |
| 2019-08-27 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), Pierre Landry is agent for the Respondent. | Ronald Asselin |
| 2019-08-26 | Notice of appeal, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2019-08-26 | Desjardins Financial Services Firm Inc. |
| 2019-08-19 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), Additional counsel information for the Respondent. | Ronald Asselin |
| 2019-08-13 | Notice of hearing sent to parties | |
| 2019-07-31 |
Appeal hearing scheduled, 2019-12-05, START TIME 10:00 A.M. The schedule for serving and filing the material is set as follows: The notice of appeal shall be served and filed on or before August 27, 2019. The appellants’ record, factum and book of authorities, if any, shall be served and filed on or before October 1, 2019. Any person wishing to intervene in this appeal under Rule 55 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada shall serve and file a motion for leave to intervene on or before October 22, 2019. The appellants and respondent shall serve and file their response(s), if any, to the motions for leave to intervene on or before October 29, 2019. Replies to any responses to the motions for leave to intervene shall be served and filed on or before October 31, 2019. Any intervener granted leave to intervene under Rule 59 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada shall serve and file its respective factum and book of authorities, if any, on or before November 22, 2019. The respondent’s record, factum and book of authorities, if any, shall be served and filed on or before November 19, 2019. Judgment reserved |
|
| 2019-07-25 | Letter advising the parties of tentative hearing date and filing deadlines (Leave granted) | |
| 2019-06-28 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2019-06-28 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2019-06-27 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Quebec (Montréal), Number 500-09-025896-168, 2017 QCCA 1673, dated October 31, 2017, is granted with costs in the cause. The schedule for serving and filing materials will be set by the Registrar. Granted, with costs in the cause |
|
| 2018-07-16 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, for consideration by the Court | |
| 2018-02-12 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Letter Form), Completed on: 2018-02-12 | Desjardins Financial Services Firm Inc. |
| 2018-02-02 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) | Ronald Asselin |
| 2018-02-02 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2018-02-02 | Ronald Asselin |
| 2018-01-29 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), Pierre-Jérôme Bouchard (by email). Cover letter for the electronic version of the translated memorandum of argument. | Desjardins Financial Services Firm Inc. |
| 2018-01-04 | Letter acknowledging receipt of an incomplete application for leave to appeal, (FILE OPENED 2018-01-04) | |
| 2017-12-28 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form) | Desjardins Financial Services Firm Inc. |
| 2017-12-28 | Notice of name, (Letter Form) | Desjardins Financial Services Firm Inc. |
| 2017-12-28 | Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), (2 volumes), Corrected notice of application for leave to appeal required (received 2018-01-08). Translated memorandum of argument filed in electronic version on 2018-01-29., Completed on: 2018-01-10 | Desjardins Financial Services Firm Inc. |
Parties
Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.
Main parties
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Desjardins Financial Services Firm Inc. | Appellant | Active |
| Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc., a lawfully constituted legal person, formerly Desjardins Asset Management Inc. | Appellant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Asselin, Ronald | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Desjardins Financial Services Firm Inc.
Counsel
Pierre-Jérôme Bouchard
Gabriel Faure
2500-1000 De La Gauchetière St. W.
Montréal, Quebec
H3B 0A2
Telephone: (514) 397-4100
FAX: (514) 875-6246
Email: mpoplaw@mccarthy.ca
Agent
411 Roosevelt Avenue, suite 400
Ottawa, Ontario
K2A 3X9
Telephone: (613) 780-2026
FAX: (613) 688-0271
Email: dtaylor@conwaylitigation.ca
Party: Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc., a lawfully constituted legal person, formerly Desjardins Asset Management Inc.
Counsel
Pierre-Jérôme Bouchard
Gabriel Faure
2500-1000 De La Gauchetière St. W.
Montréal, Quebec
H3B 0A2
Telephone: (514) 397-4100
FAX: (514) 875-6246
Email: mpoplaw@mccarthy.ca
Agent
411 Roosevelt Avenue, suite 400
Ottawa, Ontario
K2A 3X9
Telephone: (613) 780-2026
FAX: (613) 688-0271
Email: dtaylor@conwaylitigation.ca
Party: Asselin, Ronald
Counsel
Bruce W. Johnston
Serge Létourneau
Audrey Létourneau
Julien Delisle
Suite 200
353 Saint-Nicolas Street
Montréal, Quebec
H2Y 2P1
Telephone: (514) 985-7071
FAX: (514) 849-4817
Email: gpaquette@paquettegadler.com
Agent
225, montée Paiement, 2e étage
Gatineau, Quebec
J8P 6M7
Telephone: (819) 771-7393
FAX: (819) 771-5397
Email: p.landry@noelassocies.com
Summary
Keywords
Civil procedure - Class action - Authorization criteria - Common questions - Arguable case - Class action in contractual and extracontractual civil liability - Whether Court of Appeal erred in authorizing class action based on representations made individually by hundreds of financial advisors to thousands of investors in context of their personal financial planning under art. 1003(a) [now 575 para. 1] of Code of Civil Procedure - Whether, in light of release and injunction in homologation order, cause of action based on ABCP (asset backed commercial paper) was “arguable” for purposes of art. 1003(b) [now 575 para. 2] of Code of Civil Procedure - Whether Court of Appeal erred in concluding that purely speculative allegations concerning alleged error of design and management sufficed to establish arguable cause of action for purposes of art. 1003(b) [now 575 para. 2] of Code of Civil Procedure - Code of Civil Procedure, CQLR, c. C-25, art. 1003 (repealed) - Code of Civil Procedure, CQLR, c. C-25.01, art. 575 - Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C 36, ss. 16 and 17.
Summary
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 respondent, Ronald Asselin, made investments with Caisse Desjardins de Sherbrooke Est. Called “Perspectives Plus Term Savings” and “Alternative Term Savings”, they were principal protected term deposits that were not cashable before maturity. Following the economic crisis of 2008, Mr. Asselin was informed in March 2009 that although the principal was still protected, the investments would not yield any return and would continue not to be cashable until the end of the term. In 2011, Mr. Asselin filed an application for authorization to institute a class action in contractual civil liability against the appellant Desjardins Financial Services Firm Inc. on the ground that it had encouraged people to make investments that were represented to be safe even though they involved a specific risk that could affect their yield potential, and in extracontractual civil liability against the appellant Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. on the ground that it had designed and managed the investments in question in a reckless and incompetent manner that was not in keeping with the risk associated with a financial product represented to be safe, and that it had used inappropriate financial strategies.
Lower court rulings
Superior Court of Quebec
2016 QCCS 839, 500-06-000610-127
Motion for authorization to institute class action and to be ascribed status of representative dismissed
Court of Appeal of Quebec (Montréal)
2017 QCCA 1673, 500-09-025896-168
Appeal allowed; trial judgment set aside; re amended motion with particulars (2) for authorization to institute class action and to be ascribed status of representative allowed; bringing of class action authorized
Memorandums of argument on application for leave to appeal
The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filing out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.
Downloadable PDFs
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Related links
Factums on appeal
The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.
If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.
Downloadable PDFs
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