Executive Summary: Key Legal and Evidentiary Issues

• Two companies — 9141-3898 Québec inc. and École Vision St-Augustin — sued the Ville de Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures for damages arising from road reconstruction works carried out in the summer of 2022.
• Central to the dispute is whether the city breached a 2008 servitude agreement by demolishing a school drop-off area and replacing it with a bicycle path without the plaintiffs' consent.
• Claims for damages relating to the unauthorized cutting of trees and the contractor's unauthorized use of the property were found to be prescribed under the six-month limitation period in Article 586 of the Act Respecting Cities and Towns.
• The claim for replacement of the drop-off area was governed by the three-year contractual prescription period under Article 2925 of the Civil Code of Québec and was therefore timely.
• Expert evidence established that constructing a U-shaped driveway on the property of 9141-3898 Québec inc. to restore safe student access would cost $227,142.30.
• Only 9141-3898 Québec inc. succeeded in its claim; the claim of École Vision St-Augustin was declared moot.

Facts of the case

Since June 1, 2009, 9141-3898 Québec inc. (9141) has owned an immovable property at 4920, rue Pierre-Georges-Roy, in Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures. École Vision St-Augustin (École), a private primary school, has occupied the same premises under an emphyteutic lease since August 18, 2004. In 2008, the school's director, Marie-Claude Buissière — who is also a shareholder and administrator of 9141 — raised concerns with the Ville de Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures (VSAD) about the safety of students given increased vehicle traffic on the street following nearby condominium construction. In response, VSAD arranged for a drop-off area and sidewalk to be built along the road adjacent to the school. Because part of these works encroached on 9141's land, the parties entered into a servitude agreement on October 9, 2008, granting VSAD a real and perpetual public utility servitude and right of passage over the property.

By 2020, a development project known as "Diadem," proposed by developer Immofab, contemplated the demolition of the school building and construction of residential towers on the site. Permit applications for demolition, implantation, and construction were submitted to VSAD in November 2021. In the spring of 2022, VSAD undertook a road reconstruction project on rue Pierre-Georges-Roy. Based on the pending demolition permits, VSAD added an addendum to the plans excluding the drop-off area from the new works, replacing it with a bicycle path that ran partly over the servitude land. The road reconstruction contract was awarded on May 3, 2022, and works began shortly after. During those works, the contractor also used 9141's property without authorization for approximately two weeks in July 2022, and trees were cut on the property. By late June 2022, however, 9141 had already notified VSAD that the Immofab project was in doubt, and on July 5, 2022, 9141 asked VSAD not to bring the project before the municipal council. At the time of trial, École continued to operate its private primary school at the same address, and the school held the necessary permits to continue operating there for the next seven years.

Contractual clauses at issue

The October 9, 2008 servitude agreement (P-3) was central to the dispute. Clause 1.8 recorded that VSAD had undertaken works on 9141's land — specifically the installation of a concrete sidewalk and road repaving — for the purpose of making pedestrian and vehicular access to École Vision St-Augustin more ergonomic and safer. Clause 1.9 established a real and perpetual public utility servitude over the property to permit, among other things, the construction of public works. Clause 3.1.2 set out the conditions for exercising the servitude, including the obligation of the dominant landowner (VSAD) to restore the land to its prior condition at its own expense and to compensate the owner of the servient land for any damages caused by the works.

In 2022, VSAD also sought a temporary work servitude from 9141 and École in connection with the road reconstruction project. On July 4, 2022, both companies passed resolutions conditionally consenting to the temporary servitude — 9141 on the condition that a water line be installed for the Diadem project and that the PIIA for that project be approved, and École on the condition that a temporary access be provided to compensate for the loss of the drop-off area. VSAD refused those conditions on July 6, 2022, but nevertheless proceeded with the works.

Court's reasoning and analysis

The court first addressed prescription. It found that the claims for damages relating to the unauthorized tree cutting and unauthorized use of the property were subject to the six-month limitation period in Article 586 of the Act Respecting Cities and Towns, which applies to claims for damages arising from faults or illegalities committed by a municipality. Since the plaintiffs had known of both incidents as early as July 2022, and their action was not filed until February 23, 2023, those claims were time-barred.

The claim concerning the drop-off area was treated differently. The court found that this claim was grounded not in an extracontractual fault or illegality, but in the breach of a contractual obligation — namely, the 2008 servitude agreement. Relying on Article 2925 of the Civil Code of Québec and on the Court of Appeal's reasoning in Longueuil (Ville de) c. Carquest Canada Ltée, as well as Justice Blanchet's analysis in Isoco Construction Inc. c. Ville de New Richmond, the court held that the three-year contractual prescription period applied, making the claim timely.

On the merits, the court found that VSAD had breached its contractual obligations under the P-3 servitude. The sole purpose of the 2008 servitude was to ensure the safe arrival and departure of students at the school. VSAD's decision to demolish the drop-off area and replace it with a bicycle path — without the plaintiffs' consent and without providing an alternative safe access — was contrary to both the express terms and the nature of the contract. The court noted that VSAD had been informed from as early as June 28, 2022, that the Immofab development project was in jeopardy, yet proceeded with the removal of the drop-off area without making any alternative arrangement. The court also drew on Article 1434 and Article 1458 of the Civil Code of Québec, which bind contracting parties not only to what they expressly agreed but also to what flows from the nature of the contract, and impose liability for failure to honour contractual commitments.

On quantum, expert Gaétan Robichaud — whose qualifications as an estimation expert were admitted — assessed the cost of constructing a U-shaped driveway on 9141's property to provide a safe drop-off area at $227,142.30, excluding taxes. The court accepted this figure as the direct and immediate consequence of VSAD's breach of its obligations.

Ruling and overall outcome

The Québec Superior Court, per Justice Damien St-Onge, allowed the claim of 9141-3898 Québec inc. in part and ordered VSAD to pay 9141-3898 Québec inc. $227,142.30, plus interest and the additional indemnity from April 16, 2025 — the date of the expert cost assessment — with costs. The claim of École Vision St-Augustin was declared moot, without costs. The claims for punitive damages for the tree cutting ($3,600) and for unauthorized use of the property ($10,000) were dismissed as prescribed.