Executive Summary: Key Legal and Evidentiary Issues

• Dispute over whether Perron Équipement inc. acquired ownership of a contested strip of land through acquisitive prescription under the Civil Code of Québec.

• Evaluation of the animus possidendi (intent to possess) and nature of factual possession required to trigger prescription.

• Consideration of whether the existence of a long-standing fence and maintenance work established peaceful, continuous, and unequivocal possession.

• Rejection of the argument that a legal servitude of right of way (enclave) applied due to lack of true inaccessibility or excessive cost.

• Clarification that servitudes cannot be acquired by prescription, reaffirming established Quebec case law.

• Determination that the trial judge did not err in law or misapprehend key facts in dismissing both the prescription and enclave claims.

Background and property dispute

MTT Manufacturier inc. is the owner of a property in Saguenay adjacent to land used by Perron Équipement inc., a tenant of Immeubles A & R Perron inc. A dispute arose over a narrow strip of land, fenced and used for access and snow clearing, which lies between the two properties. Perron Équipement had used the strip continuously for over ten years and claimed to have acquired it through acquisitive prescription, asserting that its possession met all the requirements of articles 921, 922, and 2910 of the Civil Code of Québec. Alternatively, the Perron parties argued they were entitled to a servitude of right of way, claiming the property was in an enclave or subject to excessive cost for alternate access.

The Superior Court dismissed the action, concluding that the possession was not unequivocal or exercised with the necessary animus possidendi, and that no legal enclave existed. Perron Équipement and Immeubles A & R Perron appealed to the Quebec Court of Appeal.

Issues on appeal and Court’s analysis

The Quebec Court of Appeal examined whether the trial judge had erred in applying the legal tests for acquisitive prescription and for a servitude of right of way. The Court reviewed the evidence regarding the fenced-off strip and noted that the fence had been maintained by Perron Équipement, but there was no convincing evidence that the use was exercised with the intent to exclude the true owner or claim ownership on its own behalf.

The Court emphasized that under Quebec civil law, possession must be continuous, peaceful, public, unequivocal, and exercised as an owner. It agreed with the trial judge that the tenants’ use of the land was practical and tolerated, not adversarial or exclusive. The Court also confirmed that servitudes—unlike ownership—cannot be acquired by prescription, citing established jurisprudence such as Yazedjian c. Hassan. Therefore, even longstanding use of a passage cannot create a servitude unless established by title or operation of law.

On the issue of the alleged enclave, the Court found that the property had functional access via a route along rue de l’Ancrage, and although more costly to develop, that did not render it legally enclosed. The excessive cost standard under article 997 C.c.Q. was not met. The Court further rejected the notion that economic or practical disadvantages alone could justify the creation of a legal servitude of right of way.

Outcome

The Quebec Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal in full. It concluded that:

• Acquisitive prescription was not proven due to lack of unequivocal and owner-like possession.

• Legal servitude (enclave) did not apply because the land was not truly inaccessible and the alternate access was not prohibitively expensive.

As a result, MTT Manufacturier inc. retained ownership of the disputed land, and the Perron parties’ claims were rejected. The judgment reaffirms the strict requirements for prescription and the exceptional nature of legal servitudes under Quebec property law.