CIVIL LAW PROPERTY FINAL EXAM NOTES (ROBERT GODIN)
APRIL 2007
By Andrew Carvajal
Introduction to Civil Law Property
three elements
two persons
juridical personality
Human persons
Art. 1
Art. 6
Art. 7
Legal persons
Art. 298
Art. 301
Art. 316
(State enterprises)
Art. 300
Different kinds of persons
enterprises
Art. 1525.3
Art. 2683
Art. 2684
Art. 2685
Art. 2686
Partnerships
trusts
Art. 1261
syndicate
Art. 1039
L’objet du droit
Movable vs. immovable property
res communes
res nullius
Art. 913
Art. 914
capital:, usufruct and objects
La Nature du droit
The Civil Code
suppletive
Art. 9
The Preliminary Provision of the Code
J. E. C. Brierly “The New Civil Code of Quebec”
Preliminary Provision
Dore v. Verdun
implementation
The question of transition
Definition of Property (Les Bien)
biens et choses
Terré & Philippe Simler
Patrimony (Patrimoine)
Art. 2
Art. 302
Aubry and Rau
Three main principles
Terré and Simler
droits extra-patrimoniales
common pledge
Art. 2644
Art. 2645
Art. 2646
Art. 2647
Pierre Roy & Associés inc. c. Bagnoud
successions
Art. 625
Art. 780
Partnerships and patrimony
Roy c. Boivin Carrier
Art. 2221
fiduciary substitutions
family patrimony
Couture c. Gagnon
Art.1223
Art.414
Art.415
Art.416
Appropriation
trust
patrimony in crown corporations
Patrimonial and extra-patrimonial rights
Art.3
Art.25
Art.536
Art.35
Real and Personal Rights
Real right, jus in re, droits reeles
Personal right, jus in personam, droit de creence
Art.1519
The Lease: An Example
Art.1851
Art. 1854
Art. 1855
Buying a house
Art. 1710 and 1712
Art. 1710 and 1712
Art. 1397
Art. 2946
advanced registration
Art. 2966
Real Rights
3 elements of the rights of ownership
Art.947
Types of dismemberment
Usufruct
Art.1120
Art.1172
Real servitude
Art.1177
Emphyteusis
Art.1195
Pincipales modalités
Art.1009
Art.1010
Art.1011
Accessory real rights
Art.2644
Art.2645
Art.2646
Art.2647
Hypothec
Art.2660
Art.2661
Art.2647
Art.8
Art.911
Intellectual Property
s.91(2) Constitution Act 1867
Publication or Rights and Registration
Cadastre
parcel identification units
two types of systems
registration of deeds
title registration
Art.2941
Art.2935
Art.2936
Art.2971.1
Art.2938
Art.2934
Art.2934.1
Art.2982
Art.2943
Art.2944
Art.2963
Art.2964
Art.1455
Art.1038
Art.1039
Art.2968
Movables and Immovables
What is the relevance of this distinction today?
Art.899
Art.3098
Art.3102
alienation of property
art 1299
art.1305,
art. 1307
Art. 174
art.213
formalism
Art.2693
Art.2696
Prescription
Art.2918
Art.2919
Arts. 404-05
art. 852
old code
Art. 907
By nature
Bélair c. Ste-Rose
Nadeau c Rousseau
Horn Elevator Limited c. Domine D’Iberville Limitée
Cablevision (Montréal) Inc. c. Deputy Minister of Revenue of the Province of Quebec
By destination
Incorporeal immovables right
Corporeal rights
Art. 921
What happens under the new Code?
Art. 899:
Art 900
Art 901
Service Diron
rt. 903
S.48 of the transitory provision
Why was immobilization by destination removed?
S.48:
Art. 1843
Art. 2672
Art. 2796
Art. 571 of the Code of Civil Procedure
Construtek G.B. Inc. c. Laforge
Axor Construction c. 3099-220 Québec Inc.)
Ville de Montréal c. 2313-1329 Québec Inc
Note on the transition
Art. 904
Art. 2695
Art. 905
Art. 906
Art. 907
consumable
Art. 1127
Art. 2314
fungible
Art. 1453
Res communes
Art. 913
Water
Art. 981
Morin c. Morin
Art. 934
appropriated
Art. 914
Art. 935
Can you abandon an immovable?
Art. 936
On treasures
Art. 938
Jacques Boivin Et Gaétan Fournier C. Le Procureur Général Du Québec
Vacant estates
Art. 696
hors commerce
Art. 631
Art. 1212
Art. 3
Arts. 2795 and 2876
Public and Private Ownership - “Domaine”
Arts 911-920 and 934-946
Art. 915
How did we get into the discussion of private/public property?
France
Art. 918
Art. 919
The history of “domaine”
censirents
Art. 923
free and common soccage
What is pubic domain?
Art. 300
What are these special characteristics of State property?
Property is un-prescriptible
Art. 2876
Property in inalienable
Art.94.9 of the Code of Civil Procedure
Immunity from taxation
private and public domain of the State
duality: the municipal level
Les Bâtiments Kalad’art c. Construction D.R.M
Concrete Column Clamps Ltd. v. City of Quebec
J. Serrentino Construction v. Laval sur le Lac [1966] C.S. 425
City of Montreal v. Hill-Clark-Francis [1968] C.A.
Concordia Concrete Floors Ltd v. Louis Laflamme Construction Inc. [1980]
Ville de Sherbrooke v. Pelouse de la Capitale [1983] C.S. 758
Construction Socam Ltée V. Communauté Urbaine De Montréal
Macconerie Demers v. AMT
Société Des Traversiers Du Québec V. Produits D'acier Écan Inc
Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Marie De Trois-Rivières V. Jacques Roy
Art.94 of Code of Civil Procedure
art.94.9 of the CCP
Art. 911
Art. 947
Art. 952
4 fundamental characteristics;
Absolute
Total
Exclusive and individual
Perpetual
Voisinage
Legal servitudes
Real servitudes
Art. 1177
Art. 976
Water
Morin c. Morin
Art. 951
Art. 979
Art. 981
Art. 920
Art. 982
Calvé c. Gestion Serge Lafrenière inc
Roy c. Tring-Jonction
Trees
Art. 984
Art. 985
Art. 986
Access to the land of another
Art. 988
Encroachments
Art. 992
Gosselinc c. Doiron
Distances between buildings
Art. 993
Art. 994
Art. 995
Art. 996
Right of way (enclave)
Art. 997
Art. 999
Art. 1000
Whitebirth c. Martin
The origin of Art. 976
Art. 1457
When does this of voisinage concept come into play?
damage
regular occurrence
Léo Pilon c. St-Janvier Golf & Country Club Inc
Katz v. Reitz
Christopolous v. Restarurant M
Gourdeau c. Lettelier de St. Just
defences
Remedies
Calvé c. Tring-Jonction
S.6 of the Canadian Charter
s.49 of the Charter
Art. 1621
Construction
Art. 990
Art. 991
Katz c. Reitz
Art. 1465
Art. 1467
Environment Equality Act
Act respecting Agricultural Land and Agricultural Activities
Limitation to the Right of Ownership Imposed by the Public Interest
Two levels of expropriation in Canada
Reserves
Bill 36
zoning
Sula c. Cite de Duvernay
Themens v. Royer
TERM II......
More on Ownership – Barnage
Art. 977
Art. 978
Land Survey Act
Art. 2996
Art. 789 of the CCP
Art. 806 of the CCP
Subsoil and Air Space
Art. 951
Art. 985
Art. 976
Lacroix v. R.
Lacroix v. The Queen
Mining Act
Acquisition of Ownership
Occupation and abandoned property
Tremblay v. Boivin
Art. 934
Art. 935
Conditions to be able to occupy
Prescription
Jacques Boivin Et Gaétan Fournier c. Le Procureur Général Du Québec
Art. 939
Accession
first type
Art. 948
Art. 949
Art. 910
second type
Christian Atias
Artificial accession
Art. 955
Art. 956
Art. 2671
Art. 957
Art. 1110
movable accession
Art. 971
Art. 975
Art. 2673
Location Fortier Inc. v. Pacheco
Possession
CARBONNIER (1995) “Droit Civil: Les Biens”
MAZEAUD, MAZEAUD et CHABAS (1984)
Art. 921
Distinction between intention and detention
Two elements of possession
Terré & Simler
Art. 924
possession utile
Art. 922
Continuity
Art. 925
Peacefulness
Art. 927
Art. 926
Public
Unequivocal
Good and bad faith
Art. 932
Art. 2805
Art. 2943
Morin-Gagné c. Capital Midland Walwyn inc
Art. 931
Fiducie Enfants-Marier c. 2955-9754 Québec Inc
Why the interest in possession and what is its impact?
What are the juridical consequences? How does possession operate?
Art. 923
Art. 916
Art. 930
Art. 957
Art. 958
Art. 959
Art. 960
Art. 961
Art. 962
Art. 963
Art. 964
Types of detentors
The role of the possessor
Art. 929
Art. 2923
Petatory action
Art. 912
Sivret v. Giroux
Prescription
Art. 916
Art. 2875
Art. 2921
Art. 2922
general rule is 10 years
Art. 2923
Art. 2924
Art. 2925
Art. 1162
Art. 1191
Art. 2795
Art. 2798
Art. 2799
Acquisitive prescription
Art. 2910
Art. 2917
Art. 2911
Terré & Simler
How does prescription operate now?
Art. 2876
Art. 2877
Art. 2904
Art. 2905
Art. 2880
Art. 2883
Art. 2884
Art. 2930
Doré v.Verdun (City)
Successions
Art. 2912
Art. 2914
Art. 2919
Morin-Gagné c. Capital Midland Walwyn inc
Art. 2928
Art. 2929
Interruption
Art. 2889
Art. 2890
Art. 2891
Art.2918
Art. 805 of the Code of Civil Procedure
Art. 806 of the Code of Civil Procedure
retroactive effect?
On retroactivity
Modes of Ownership – Modalités
Allice c. Potashner
Allice c. Potashner
Art. 1009
Co-ownership
Art. 1010
Droit de la famille
Undivided co-ownership – Indivision
MARLER(The Role of Real property)
CUMYN (L’Indivision)
Art. 1012
Art. 1013
Art. 1030
Art. 1037
Art. 943
Art. 1032
publication
Art. 1014
Art. 2938
Art. 1015
Art. 1016
Art. 1017
Art. 1018
Art. 1021
Art. 2679
Art. 1022
STCUM Community v. Bandera investments
Pension Fund for the Employees of STCUM Community v. Bandera investments
Art. 1023
In the case of Harel c. 2760-1699 Quebec Inc
Cadieux c. Caron
On administration
Art. 1025
Art. 1026
Art. 1027
Art. 1028
Art. 1029
Art. 1030
Art. 1031
Art. 1032
Art. 1033
Art. 1034
Art. 1037
Successions
Art. 836
Art. 837
Art. 839
Art. 840
Art. 841
Art. 842
Art. 843
Art. 844
Art. 847
Art. 884
Arts. 809 and 810 in the Code of Civil Procedure
Forced or Permanent/Perpetual indivision
Arises in three situations
MIGNAULT
Note: la copropriété permanente – permanent Co-Ownership
Art. 1002
Art. 1003
Art. 1004
Art. 1005
Art. 996
Maintenance
Art. 1006
Meneghini v. Zambito-Orazio
Groleau v. Scté Immobilière du Patrimoine architectural de Montreal
Art. 1007
Things destined to the perpetual services of immovables
Condominium – Divided Co-ownership
Two types of portions
Art. 1041
Art. 1042
Art. 1043
Art. 1044
Art. 1045
Art. 1046
Art. 1038
Art. 3030
Art. 1048
Destination
Declaration
Art. 1052
Art. 1053
Art. 1054
Art. 1056
Art. 1063
Talbot v. Guay (1992)
Bergeron v. Martin
Wilson v. Syndicat des Co-proprietaires du condo le Champlain
Immeubles St. Laurent v. Zrihen
Kilzi v. Syndicat des Co-propriétaires du 10,400 Boul. l’Acadie
Amselem v. Syndicat Northcrest
Epoux X c. Syndicat des copropriétaires les Jardins de Gorbella
Art. 1062
What are some of the changes that were adopted at the time of the reform?
Art. 1055
Voting
Art. 1096
Art. 1097
Art. 1090
Art. 1101
Syndicate
Art. 1039
Art. 334
contingency fund
Art. 1072
Art. 1073
Art. 1075
Art. 1109
Relative value
Art. 1040
Art. 1051
Art. 1064
Art. 1075
Art. 1078
Art. 1090
How is relative value established?
Art. 1041
Art. 1053
Art. 1068
Gareau v. Syndicate St. Gabriel
Art. 1057
Art. 1065
Art. 1070
Art. 1079
Kilzi v. Syndicat des Co-propriétaires du 10,400 Boul. l’Acadie
Time-sharing
Some provisions that have also changed
Art. 1092
Art. 1104
Art. 1105
Art. 1106
Art. 1107
Art. 1080
arts. 897 to 910 of the Code of Civil Procedure
Arts. 751 and 752 of the Code of Civil Procedure
Art. 752 of the CCP
Latent defect
Art. 1077
Art. 1081
Art. 1011
MARLER, “The law of Real Property” – Section on “Right of Superficies”
QC v. Développements de Demain Inc
JG Cardinal
How would this arise?
how superficies can be establised
Art. 1110
Art. 1111
Art. 1113
Extinction of superficies
Art. 1116
Art. 1118
Code of Civil Procedure art.696
Morin v. Grégoire
Stone-Consolidated v. Pierre Desjardins Gestion Inc.
LaFontaine c. Grave
Dismemberments
Art. 1119
Usufruct
MIGNAULT
CANTIN-CUMYN, “De l’usufruit, de l’usage et de l’habitation»
Art. 1120
two concurrent rights at the same time
Art. 1125
Cantin-Cumyn, “De L’Usufruit, de l’Usage et de l’Habitation”
How is usufruct established?
Art. 1121
Art. 1160
Art. 908
Art. 910
Art. 1123
Art. 1130
Art. 1131
Art. 1133
Art. 1137
Art. 1138
How is it extinguished?
Art. 1162
Art. 1171
Laroque v. Beauchamps
Right of use
Art. 1172
Banque Nationale du Canada v. Gravel
Servitudes
Note on the Nature of the Charge which May Constitute a Servitude
Art. 911
Personal servitudes
A real servitude
Art. 1119
What is the exact nature of the charge imposed by a servitude?
Whitworth v. Martin
Abandonment
Terré et Simler - Servitude et Obligation Réelle
Dorion v. Les Ecclésiastiques du Séminaire de Montréal,
Art. 1178
Wasserman Stotland Bratt Grossbaum & Pinsky Inc.v. Édifice 9500 Incorporée
Cadieux v. Hinse & Morin
Hamilton v. Wall
Economic servitudes
Segal v. Ross
Obligations and servitudes
How are servitudes established?
Art. 1181
Administrative servitude
How is the servitude exercised?
Art.1177
Art. 1186
How is it terminated?
Art. 1191
Art. 1189
Art. 1192
Art. 1193
Art.696 of the Code of Civil Procedure
Emphyteusis
Art. 1195
Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada v. 137578 Canada Inc.
Introduction to Civil Law Property
Looking at New Civil Code adopted Dec 1991
Old code similar to French Napoleonic code
In civil law cases reflect, apply, interpret the code, unlike in common law, where they make the law
- Some cases, however, are important and help interpret an issue and give examples of how a principle is applied
Important texts
Civil Code
Introduction aux droits des biens
Biens et proprieté
Code of Civil Procedure (many rules in here that tie closely to the civil code)
In any question dealing with property and patrimony, three elements are taken into consideration
- The person – sujet du droit
- The thing – la chose or l’object du droit
- The nature of the relationship between the person or the thing – la nature du droit
In legal systems we recognize two persons
- The human person (personne physique)
- The legal person (personne morale) – associations, corporations
Personalité juridique (juridical personality): The ability to become un sujet du droit
Human persons - personne physique: every human being has juridical personality; section 1 of the civil code and also the charter of human rights and freedom
- Certain restrictions apply: art 6 every person is to exercise their civil rights in good faith
- Art. 7 no right may be exercised to injure someone else
- So having rights as a juridical person implies that there is a framework of how to exercise them that needs to be followed
- So every human being, when born, has juridical personality
- Human persons cannot lose juridical personality except through death
- Before people could be declared civilly dead (mort civile) – this was replaced with civil degradation (in which case you couldn’t write a will etc); both of these have disappeared
Art. 1
Every human being possesses juridical personality and has the full enjoyment of civil rights.
Art. 6
Every person is bound to exercise his civil rights in good faith.
Art. 7
No right may be exercised with the intent of injuring another or in an excessive and unreasonable manner which is contrary to the requirements of good faith.
Things, including animals, have no juridical personality
Legal persons (personne morale)
- Legal fictions, abstract non-material creations of the legal system
- E.g. a corporation
- The old code didn’t deal much with legal persons
- Art 298 entitles legal person with juridical personality
- Art 301 entitles them with full enjoyment of civil rights
- Their rights are distinct from those of the shareholders
- Art. 316 People who were responsible for the wrongdoing of the legal person (i.e. directors) can be held personally liable
- People cannot use the legal person to act in bad faith
- There is a special kind of legal person: the crown and state authority; with very special rules for the rights that it can and cannot enjoy
Art. 298
Legal persons are endowed with juridical personality.
Legal persons are established in the public interest or for a private interest.
Art. 301
Legal persons have full enjoyment of civil rights.
Art. 316
In case of fraud with regard to the legal person, the court may, on the application of an interested person, hold the founders, directors, other senior officers or members of the legal person who have participated in the alleged act or derived personal profit therefrom liable, to the extent it indicates, for any damage suffered by the legal person.
The role of the state and its special status as a legal person (State enterprises)
- Historically the state was above the law and the legal system
- Art. 300 (new article): state corporations as legal person established in the common interest, primarily governed by special act applicable to its kind
- The state is subject to the law in these areas, not governed by a special regime
- So crown and state corporations have a special regime, but it has become very restricted into the limits of the law
Art. 300
Legal persons established in the public interest are primarily governed by the special Acts by which they are constituted and by those which are applicable to them; legal persons established for a private interest are primarily governed by the Acts applicable to their particular type.
Both kinds of legal persons are also governed by this Code where the provisions of such Acts require to be complemented, particularly with regard to their status as legal persons, their property or their relations with other persons.
Different kinds of persons
What do we look at when we look at the person?
Personne physique: age, marital status, domicile, nationality
- In private international law, different laws can apply depending on the person, lived, died etc
- Personne moral: legal rules may depend on where a corporation was formed or sometimes on where it operates
- Sometime we look at how it was incorporated
- Given the nature on what it does
- Whether the internal governance follows the proper regulations
There is a whole new article in the new code that deals with enterprises
- Art 1525.3 The carrying on of an organized economic activity by several person constitutes the carrying on of an enterprise
- Also arts. 2683, 2684, 2685 and 2686 deal with enterprises exclusively
- Enterprise is defined as an activity more than a legal person
Art. 1525.3
The carrying on by one or more persons of an organized economic activity, whether or not it is commercial in nature, consisting of producing, administering or alienating property, or providing a service, constitutes the carrying on of an enterprise.
Art. 2683
Except where he operates an enterprise and the hypothec is charged on the property of that enterprise, a natural person may grant a movable hypothec without delivery only on road vehicles or other movable property determined by regulation and subject to the conditions determined by regulation.
Where the act constituting the hypothec is accessory to a consumer contract, it is subject to the rules as to form and contents prescribed by this Book or by regulation.
Art. 2684
Only a person or a trustee carrying on an enterprise may grant a hypothec on a universality of property, movable or immovable, present or future, corporeal or incorporeal.
The person or trustee may thus hypothecate animals, tools or equipment pertaining to the enterprise, claims and customer accounts, patents and trademarks, or corporeal movables included in the assets of any of his enterprises kept for sale, lease or processing in the manufacture or transformation of property intended for sale, for lease or for use in providing a service.
Art. 2685
Only a person carrying on an enterprise may grant a hypothec on a movable represented by a bill of lading.
Art. 2686
Only a person or a trustee carrying on an enterprise may grant a floating hypothec on the property of the enterprise.
Other organizations that have no juridical personality
- Partnerships; the debate in Quebec is still on whether the partnership has juridical personality part from that of the partners
Another interesting are is that of trusts
- We have some assets that don’t belong to anybody and in which trustees and beneficiaries have no real right
- The body itself has no juridical personality
- Art. 1261
Art. 1261
The trust patrimony, consisting of the property transferred in trust, constitutes a patrimony by appropriation, autonomous and distinct from that of the settlor, trustee or beneficiary and in which none of them has any real right.
A syndicate is a special kind of legal person not subject under company law but regulated as a legal person