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ARTICLE · 07 AUGUST 2019

No Mulligans: The SCC Highlights The "Difficult Strategic Choice" Faced By Québec Defendants Sued Abroad

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Recently, in Barer v. Knight Brothers LLC, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified the applicable threshold for a party's submission to a foreign court's jurisdiction

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Elisabeth Neelin
Elisabeth Neelin
Daniel Baum
Daniel Baum
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Recently, in Barer v. Knight Brothers LLC, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified the applicable threshold for a party's submission to a foreign court's jurisdiction under the Civil Code of Québec. Québec defendants sued abroad – and foreign companies sued in Québec – should take notice. 

The context

Knight Brothers LLC ("Knight"), a Utah-based company, sued David Barer ("Barer"), a Québec resident, and two companies allegedly under his control, in Utah. In addition to a contractual claim against the company, Knight sought to pierce the corporate veil to seek personal liability against Barer and made a claim for fraudulent misrepresentation. 

Barer brought a motion to dismiss Knight's lawsuit on a variety of grounds, including the lack of personal jurisdiction of the Utah court. Crucially, Barer also alleged in his motion to dismiss that the corporate veil should not be pierced and that the fraudulent misrepresentation claim was barred. The Utah court refused

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