Alain Arsenault

Two appellants — a religious congregation and a religious institution managed by its members — sought to overturn authorization of a class action brought by victims of alleged sexual assaults committed by members of the congregation decades ago.

The majority held that the Superior Court had made numerous errors of fact and law in denying authorization under the four conditions of art. 575 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and that the Court of Appeal was entitled to substitute its own assessment on all conditions.

The majority further held that the three-year period under art. 2926.1 para. 2 C.C.Q., which applies upon the death of the victim or the author of the act, does not create a term for forfeiture but remains a prescriptive period, with the starting point continuing to be when the victim becomes aware of the connection between the assault and the injury.

The minority would have allowed the appeal against the religious institution for lack of sufficient factual allegations, while dismissing the appeal as to the congregation.

The appellant filed a civil liability action for sexual assault more than 25 years after the alleged assault occurred.

The respondents successfully moved to dismiss the action on the ground that it was prescribed, and the Quebec Court of Appeal affirmed the dismissal.

The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, agreeing with the dissenting judge at the Court of Appeal that the issue of when prescription started to run raised questions of fact that could not be resolved on the face of the record.

The case was remanded to the Quebec Superior Court to assess the evidence.