The appellant's spouse disappeared in 2008.
In 2016, the appellant obtained a declaratory judgment of death.
The respondent life insurance company subsequently applied to annul the judgment, presenting evidence that the spouse was alive and living in Iran, but failed to serve the spouse with the application.
The trial judge annulled the declaratory judgment of death, finding on a balance of probabilities that the spouse had 'returned' within the meaning of the Civil Code of Québec.
The Court of Appeal upheld the decision.
The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal, holding that while the failure to serve the spouse was a procedural defect, it did not warrant dismissal of the application as it caused no prejudice.
The Court further held that the 'return' of a person declared dead can be established by any contemporaneous manifestation that they are alive, proved on a balance of probabilities, without requiring their physical return or a higher standard of certainty.
