Executive Summary: Key Legal and Evidentiary Issues

• Sonia Gabriel claimed $10,000 in damages against neighbour Ronald Hansel, alleging he gave bad financial advice that led her to invest in the online trading platform Easybit.
• Central to the dispute was whether Hansel's act of sharing information about Easybit and introducing Gabriel to her broker constituted a civil fault under Article 1457 of the Civil Code of Québec.
• Gabriel transferred $1,000 to Crypto.com on 6 January 2025 and a further $9,000 to the same address on 16 January 2025, losing the full $10,000.
• Hansel denied any involvement in opening Gabriel's account, handling her funds, or initiating transfers, asserting he merely shared general information about a platform he personally used.
• Burden of proof under Articles 2803 and 2804 of the Civil Code of Québec required Gabriel to establish, on a balance of probabilities, that Hansel committed a fault causally linked to her losses.
• The court found Gabriel failed to meet that burden, as Hansel provided only general information about a possible investment without further involvement.

Facts of the case

Sonia Gabriel and Ronald Hansel are neighbours in the same district in Ville Mont-Royal who had maintained both business and personal ties for several years. Gabriel, who works as a real estate agent, claims that Hansel advised her to deposit funds with an online trading platform called Easybit, describing it as a British investment company based in England that would generate significant profits. Acting on what she understood to be his recommendation, Gabriel transferred $1,000 to Crypto.com on 6 January 2025 and a further $9,000 to the same address on 16 January 2025, for a total of $10,000. She subsequently communicated with a broker named Daniel Grey at Easybit, who initially sent her two profit cheques but later informed her that her investments had been lost. When Gabriel sought the return of her funds, she was refused and told her account was blocked. On 16 April 2025, she sent Hansel a formal demand letter, citing their 13-year friendship and her role as his real estate agent as reasons she trusted and followed his advice.

Contractual and legal framework

No formal contract or written investment agreement between Gabriel and Hansel was presented to the court. The legal framework governing the claim was civil liability under Article 1457 of the Civil Code of Québec, which imposes on every person a duty to observe the rules of conduct applicable to their circumstances so as not to cause injury to another, and provides that a person who breaches that duty is liable to repair the resulting harm, whether bodily, moral, or material. The evidentiary standard applicable was set out in Articles 2803 and 2804 of the Civil Code of Québec: the party asserting a right must prove the facts supporting it, and proof rendering a fact more probable than not is sufficient unless the law requires more convincing evidence.

Court's reasoning and analysis

The court assessed whether Gabriel had discharged her burden of proving, on a balance of probabilities, that Hansel committed a civil fault causally connected to her losses. Hansel acknowledged that he had told Gabriel he had been using Easybit for several years as an online trading platform and that, at her request, he introduced her to the person managing his account. He denied, however, having any involvement in opening her account, handling her funds, or initiating any transfers on her behalf. In his written response to the demand letter dated 16 April 2025, Hansel stated that he paid only an initial registration fee of $350 to $360, that all financial details were between Gabriel and her broker, and that any complaints regarding fraud or scam should be directed to Easybit rather than to him. The court accepted that Hansel's conduct amounted to no more than sharing general information about a possible investment opportunity, without any deeper participation in Gabriel's decision to invest or in the management of her funds.

Ruling and overall outcome

The court dismissed Gabriel's claim in its entirety. Ronald Hansel was the successful party. The court found that Gabriel had not met her burden of proof in establishing that Hansel committed a civil fault under Article 1457 of the Civil Code of Québec. Costs of $219, representing the court filing fee (timbre judiciaire), were ordered against Gabriel.