Executive Summary: Key Legal and Evidentiary Issues

• Sylvain Castonguay and Stéphanie Séguin claimed $600 from their insurer for an unpaid holdback balance under a home insurance policy following property damage caused on May 10, 2019.
• Central to the dispute was whether the claimants' action was time-barred under the three-year prescriptive period set out in Article 2925 of the Civil Code of Québec.
• Policy clause 4.8 of the insurance contract expressly provided that any action arising from the contract must be brought within three years from the date the right of action arose.
• TD Assurance and Courtier Meloche Monnex were found to have no legal relationship with the claimants, as Sécurité Nationale Compagnie d'Assurance was the actual insurer on the policy.
• Sécurité Nationale had repeatedly followed up with the claimants to obtain a contractor's invoice and reminded them of the May 22, 2022 prescription deadline, but no document was submitted before that date.
• Filed on July 3, 2024, the claimants' action was commenced well after the prescription deadline, even accounting for the COVID-19 suspension period.

Facts of the case

Sylvain Castonguay and Stéphanie Séguin (Castonguay-Séguin) own a residence in Westmount. On May 10, 2019, an employee of Shalwin Portes et Fenêtres Inc., while driving a truck, struck a tree branch and an electrical wire on the side of the claimants' property. The impact caused significant damage: the electrical pole was completely torn off, electrical wires were left hanging, and the exterior stucco (crépi) was torn and destroyed. In a separate prior proceeding, the Honourable Daniel Dortélus rendered judgment on May 25, 2013 (docket no. 500-32-714020-213) ordering Shalwin Portes et Fenêtres Inc. to pay Sylvain Castonguay $5,012 plus interest and costs. Castonguay-Séguin also held a home insurance policy — policy no. 882755992 — for the period of April 4, 2019 to April 4, 2020. A claim was filed in the weeks following the incident, and a settlement on quantum was reached on July 23, 2019 in the amount of $5,969.92. A holdback of $600 was retained by the insurer, to be released upon receipt of a licensed contractor's invoice confirming that the work had been completed at the agreed cost. Mr. Castonguay maintained that it had been agreed that more extensive repairs to the stucco covering three façades of the residence would be required, with a final invoice to be submitted for full settlement. A formal demand letter was sent on March 20, 2024, which was denied, prompting the present claim for $600 in damages.

Policy terms and contractual clauses at issue

Sécurité Nationale Compagnie d'Assurance confirmed that it was the insurer of the claimants' residence at the time of the incident. Courtier Meloche Monnex Inc. was described as the home and auto insurance program for professionals and graduates offered by Sécurité Nationale and distributed by it in Québec, as well as by TD Assurance across Canada. Sécurité Nationale confirmed it would assume the costs of any judgment rendered against TD Assurance and Courtier Meloche Monnex. The insurer had mandated a contractor — Les Réalisations Yvan Rocher — to assess the building damage, and a depreciated-value settlement was reached with an electronic payment made on July 24, 2019. The claimants were informed that the remaining 15% balance could be reimbursed upon receipt of a licensed contractor's invoice confirming that the work had been completed, subject to the prescription deadline of May 22, 2022. At issue was clause 4.8 of the insurance policy, which provides that any action arising from the contract prescribes three years from the date the right of action arises, in accordance with Article 2925 of the Civil Code of Québec.

Court's reasoning and analysis

The court noted that despite numerous follow-ups by Sécurité Nationale requesting the contractor's invoice and reminders of the approaching prescription deadline, no documentation was submitted by the claimants before the expiry date. The court applied Article 2925 of the Civil Code of Québec, which provides a three-year prescriptive period for actions asserting personal or movable real rights where no other period is specified. The court further noted that even with the COVID-19 suspension period added, the extended deadline would have been November 8, 2022 — still well before the action was filed on July 3, 2024. The court also found an absence of any legal relationship between Castonguay-Séguin and TD Assurance or Courtier Meloche Monnex, as Sécurité Nationale was the actual insurer. Under Articles 2803 and 2804 of the Civil Code of Québec, the claimants bore the burden of proving their claim by a preponderance of evidence, which the court found they had not discharged given the prescription bar.

Ruling and overall outcome

The court, presided over by the Honourable Brigitte Gouin, J.C.Q., dismissed all three claims by Castonguay-Séguin — against TD Assurance, Courtier Meloche Monnex Inc., and Sécurité Nationale Compagnie d'Assurance — on the grounds of both prescription and the absence of a legal relationship with TD Assurance and Courtier Meloche Monnex. The defendants were the successful parties. Costs of $191 per defendant, representing the court filing fee (timbre judiciaire), were ordered against the claimants in respect of each defendant, for a total of $573 in court costs.