Catherine Bourget
Partner
Key practice areas
Insurance and Reinsurance, Construction and Infrastructure Law, Product Liability and Consumer Protection, Professional Liability, Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Catherine Bourget focuses her practice on insurance and civil litigation, especially civil and professional liability. She represents various professionals in a wide range of litigation matters and is frequently involved in construction cases, representing professionals and contractors. She also advises clients on insurance coverage and frequently acts on behalf of insurance companies, both in defence and in subrogatory actions.
Catherine is a litigator renowned for her ability to manage complex, multi-stakeholder cases and for her results-oriented approach to litigation. She has pleaded before the Court of Québec, the Superior Court and the Court of Appeal. Organized and methodical, she knows how to implement tailor-made strategies adapted to her clients’ needs when managing litigation or negotiation.
She has been actively involved in the legal community since starting her career. She was member of the Board of the Québec Bar from May 2022 to May 2024 and she is currently a member of the Requests Committee of the Québec Bar. She sat on the Board of the Young Bar of Québec City from 2017 to 2020 and she has also served on various committees of the Bar of Québec City.
Catherine is a regular speaker on insurance law and has written several articles on the subject. She enjoys raising her clients’ awareness of these issues and also mentors young lawyers.
Professional liability
- Represents architects, accountants and real estate brokers in litigation.
- Successfully represented real estate brokers in various professional liability claims.
Insurance law
- Successfully represented an insurer in a false claim.
- Was part of the team that successfully represented an insurer in an arbitration seeking to recover sums owed by a reinsurer.
Civil liability
- Successfully defended an insurer and its insured against a lawsuit seeking more than $2 million in damages for bodily injury due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
- Successfully represented a contractor in civil litigation resulting from water damage.
- Best Lawyers in Canada: Ones to Watch – Insurance Law, 2024-2025
- Honour Roll of Université Laval’s Faculty of Law, 2013
- Québec Bar:
- Member of the Requests Committee, since 2022
- Member of the Board of Directors, 2022-2024
- Bar of Québec City:
- Member of the Liaison Committee with the Court of Québec, 2019-2020
- Member of the Committee for the Promotion of Dispute Prevention and Resolution Methods, 2017-2019
- Young Bar of Québec City:
- Member of the Environmental Committee, 2019-2022
- Second Vice-President, 2019-2020
- Member of the Board of Directors, 2017-2020
- Member, since 2014
- Université Laval, Member of the Discipline Committee, since 2018
- Entraide Jeunesse Québec, Member of the Board of Directors, 2015-2017
- Québec City Association of Insurance Women, Member, since 2014
- Co-author: “Changes in the duty to defend under Québec insurance law: New regulation passed by the government!”, June 29, 2022.
- Co-author: “Amendments to article 2503 C.C.Q.: revolutionizing insurance in Québec”, August 3, 2021.
- Co-author: “La pluralité des polices d’assurance : quel est le chemin parcouru depuis l’arrêt Family Insurance c. Lombard du Canada, [2002] 2 R.C.S. 695?” [Overlapping insurance policies: surveying the progress since Family Insurance v. Lombard du Canada, [2002] 2 R.C.S. 695], Développements récents en droit des assurances, Vol. 505, Barreau du Québec, 2021.
- Co-author: “Commentaire sur la décision Anderson c. Intact, compagnie d’assurances – L’importance de l’obligation de collaboration de l’assuré réaffirmée” [Case comment on Anderson v. Intact – The importance of the insured’s obligation to cooperate reaffirmed], Repères, April 2020, EYB2020REP2977.
- Co-author: “Commentaire sur la décision Murray c. 9197-5748 Québec inc. – La Cour supérieure se penche sur une requête en désaveu et interprète la notion de piège dans le contexte d’un vol en hélicoptère : leçons à tirer” [Case comment on Murray v. 9197-5748 Québec Inc. – In its decision on a disavowal motion, the Superior Court interprets the concept of a trap in the context of a helicopter flight: lessons to be learned], Repères, April 2019, EYB2019REP2723.
- Author: “Commentaire sur la décision 3091-5177 Québec inc. (Éconolodge Aéroport) c. Cie canadienne d’assurances générales Lombard – La détermination de la garde juridique aux fins d’application de l’exclusion ʻgarde, direction ou gestion’ en matière d’assurance responsabilité civile” [Case comment on 3091-5177 Québec inc. (Éconolodge Aéroport) v. Cie canadienne d’assurances générales Lombard – The determination of legal custody for the purposes of applying the care, custody or control exclusion in civil liability insurance matters], Repères, January 2019, EYB2019REP2633.
- Co-author: “The Common Interest Privilege: an Unsung Ally”, July 20, 2018.
- Co-author: “Chronique – Le privilège d’intérêt commun et la reconnaissance de ce privilège par les tribunaux québécois et canadiens” [The common interest privilege and its recognition by Québec and Canadian courts], Repères, May 2018, EYB2018REP2471.
- Co-author: “Can Publishing a Review on Social Media Be Defamatory?”, March 20, 2018.
- Co-author: “Commentaire sur la décision Federal Construction inc. c. Congregation Kol Yaacov – Signification et lieu public consacré au culte : interprétation et réflexions” [Case comment on Federal Construction Inc. v. Congregation Kol Yaacov: service of proceedings in a public space dedicated to religious worship], Repères, June 2017, EYB2017REP2244.
- Co-author: “Skiing Accidents: Is There Always Someone Responsible?”, December 1, 2016.
- Co-author: “Commentaire sur la décision Lessard c. Centre de plein air du mont Kanasuta inc. – Accident de ski et principes applicables” [Case comment on Lessard v. Centre de plein air du mont Kanasuta Inc. – Ski accidents and applicable principles], Repères, November 2016, EYB2016REP2079.
- Co-author: “Commentaire sur la décision Compagnie d’assurances Chartis c. SCE Électrique inc. – Le défaut de collaboration de l’assuré n’affecte pas le recours subrogatoire de son assureur” [Case comment on Compagnie d’assurances Chartis v. SCE Électrique Inc. – the insured’s failure to cooperate does not affect the subrogatory right of action of the insured], Repères, Montréal, July 2016, EYB2016REP1982.
- Co-author: “A Recent Superior Court Decision Saves an Insurer’s Subrogatory Action”, May 11, 2016.
- Contributor: “La portée de l’obligation de bonne foi de l’assureur dans le traitement des réclamations” [The extent of the insurer’s obligation to act in good faith when handling claims], Assurance de dommages – Deuxième Colloque, Vol. 22, Éditions Yvon Blais, 2015.
- Contributor: “Décisions récentes en matière d’acceptation des risques et de clauses d’exonération de responsabilité” [Recent Court Decisions Involving Risk Acceptance and Liability Exclusion Clauses], Éditions Yvon Blais, June 2014.
- Co-speaker: “Exclusion de couverture liée au risque de pollution dans les polices d'assurance responsabilité civile : rétrospective et guide pratique” [Xxclusion of pollution coverage in civil liability insurance policies; A review and practical guide], Développements récents en droit des assurances et responsabilité professionnelle, Service de la qualité de la profession, Barreau du Québec, November 20, 2024.
- Co-speaker: Le privilège relatif au litige : tendances récentes et aspects pratiques [Litigation Privilege: Recent trends and practical aspects], as part of the Congrès du Jeune Barreau de Québec, Québec, May 10, 2024.
- Co-speaker: La pluralité des polices d’assurance : quel est le chemin parcouru depuis l’arrêt Family Insurance c. Lombard du Canada, [2002] 2 R.C.S. 695? [Overlapping insurance policies: surveying the progress since Family Insurance v. Lombard du Canada, [2002] 2 R.C.S. 695], Colloque des développements récents en droit des assurances, organized by the Québec Bar, 2021.
- Co-speaker: L’assurance des copropriétés divises depuis l’adoption du projet de loi 141 [Insurance of divided co-ownership since the adoption of Bill 141], Colloque Droit de l’assurance, 4th Edition, Éditions Yvon Blais, Montréal, October 2019, and Québec City, November 2019.
- Co-speaker: Les privilèges et la preuve : de la théorie à la pratique [Privileges and evidence: from theory to practice], Conférence des juristes de l’État : le retour, Québec City, June 20, 2019.
- Co-speaker: Colloque de droit des assurances : composer avec des personnalités atypiques, Langlois Knowledge, Montréal, March 29, 2019.
- Contributor: La portée de l’obligation de bonne foi de l’assureur dans le traitement des réclamations [The Extent of the Insurer’s Obligation to Act in Good Faith When Handling Claims], Deuxième Colloque Assurance de dommages, organized by Éditions Yvon Blais, Montréal, 2015.
- Contributor: La gestion de l’instance – impact du nouveau Code de procédure civile [Case Management Under the New Code of Civil Procedure], 2015.
LL.B., Université Laval, 2013
Semester of European law studies, International profile, University of Geneva, Switzerland, 2012