A litigation lawyer with 22 years of experience, Pierre Visockis defends clients against claims relating to insurance and torts, including professional and product liability and errors and omissions. He also advises on construction law.
Pierre has represented clients of all sizes, across many different industry sectors, including manufacturing, construction, health, engineering, and other professional services. He brings deep insights into insurance law to each matter, providing clients with innovative, pragmatic solutions that advance our client’s best interests.
Experience
- In matters of professional liability, he successfully defended:
- An architect against a claim by a hotel developer for over $10M based on alleged cost overruns. The Superior Court denied the claim and also awarded the architect $500,000 in fees for elements added during construction.
- The manufacturer of a component in the hull of jet ski against a claim relating to failure to warn on the risk of fire. The Superior Court denied the claim, ruling that our client had satisfied its obligation to provide the appropriate information.
- A city planner in this precedent-setting decision rendered in the absence of any cases or studies on the matter. This is the only published decision in Québec where the Superior Court had to decide on the liability of a town planner for the design of a development plan.
- Also in a matter of professional responsibility, the plaintiff claimed damages from an engineer who had approved a request for changes that were subsequently denied by the building owner. Although the engineer made a mistake, this was not held to be a professional error. The case revolved around the subtle distinction between the notions of error and fault under Quebec’s civil law.Application to compel the insurer to defend the insured (Wellington) — successfully opposed the application by a municipality in a claim for over $6M by a promoter.
- Summary dismissal of a claim against doctors for lack of legal grounds — the plaintiff applied for an order to quash certificates issued by two psychiatrists on his mental condition. Pierre successfully opposed the request, raising the Superior Court’s absence of jurisdiction on this matter.
- In matters of professional liability, he successfully defended:
- An architect against a claim by a hotel developer for over $10M based on alleged cost overruns. The Superior Court denied the claim and also awarded the architect $500,000 in fees for elements added during construction.
- The manufacturer of a component in the hull of jet ski against a claim relating to failure to warn on the risk of fire. The Superior Court denied the claim, ruling that our client had satisfied its obligation to provide the appropriate information.
- A city planner in this precedent-setting decision rendered in the absence of any cases or studies on the matter. This is the only published decision in Québec where the Superior Court had to decide on the liability of a town planner for the design of a development plan.
- Also in a matter of professional responsibility, the plaintiff claimed damages from an engineer who had approved a request for changes that were subsequently denied by the building owner. Although the engineer made a mistake, this was not held to be a professional error. The case revolved around the subtle distinction between the notions of error and fault under Quebec’s civil law.Application to compel the insurer to defend the insured (Wellington) — successfully opposed the application by a municipality in a claim for over $6M by a promoter.
- Summary dismissal of a claim against doctors for lack of legal grounds — the plaintiff applied for an order to quash certificates issued by two psychiatrists on his mental condition. Pierre successfully opposed the request, raising the Superior Court’s absence of jurisdiction on this matter.