Nathalie Dubé
Lawyer, Partner - Quebec City
Nathalie Dubé is a litigator who focuses her practice on insurance law and professional and disciplinary law. Her versatility allows her to plead before all levels of the courts, as well as before disciplinary and even penal tribunals. She represents insurers in subrogatory proceedings, advises on coverage issues and defends insurers and their insureds in a variety of disputes, including civil and professional liability suits.
Drawing on her deep expertise in professional and disciplinary law, she acts in cases involving regulation, discipline and investigations for the unauthorized use of professional titles and unlawful practice. She also advises professional orders, including their boards of directors, professional inspection committees and review committees. In addition, she co-authored a summary of professional law published in 2007.
Education
LL. B., Civil Law, Université Laval, 2000
Certificate in Social Services, Université Laval, 1995
Rankings & Recognitions
1999 – Award for best pleader and best mooting pair at Laval University’s “Coupe du Doyen” moot court competition
Areas of Practice
Industries
Representative Work
Recovery – Lac-Mégantic tragedy
Represented several insurers in a subrogatory action against Canadian Pacific and Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Canada following the July 2013 rail disaster in Lac-Mégantic. Many experts and witnesses testified in this complex trial, which spanned more than eight months. The dispute centred on a rail carrier’s liability and safety obligations with respect to product classification and railroad operations. The insurer’s action ran parallel to the class action suit and the Attorney General of Québec’s action. The dispute is now before the Court of Appeal.
Insurance coverage
Worked on numerous legal opinions on insurance coverage.
9124-4541 Québec inc. et al. v. Intact Assurance
Successfully contested a claim by Intact’s insureds following a fire in a poultry processing plant. Despite the insurer’s insistence that restoration measures be taken, the insureds failed to do so. The latter nevertheless maintained that their loss of clientele and the deterioration of the premises were attributable to the insurer, from which they claimed over $8 million. The dispute centred on the obligations of the parties to an insurance contract following a loss and particularly the insured’s obligation to minimize its losses. This obligation had been discussed at first instance and was restated and confirmed by the Court of Appeal.
Publications
Articles
- 2023 – Immunity of syndic experts
- 2021 – The importance of the mandatory annual declaration for professionals
- 2020 – The Disciplinary Council’s duty to assist an unrepresented party
- 2019 – Bill 29: Overview of Proposed Amendments to the Professional Code
- 2019 – Application of the Police Informer Privilege to the Syndic of a Professional Order
- 2018 – Section 59.1 of the Professional Code: Stricter Sanctions and Management of Proceedings
- 2018 – Imposing a Period of Refresher Training: Exercise of the Discretionary Power of the Executive Committee of a Professional Order
- 2017 – Will the Jordan Decision Have an Impact on Disciplinary Law?
- 2012 – The Role of the Tribunal des professions: True Appellate Jurisdiction or Judicial Review in Disguise?
News
Other Publications
2007 – VILLENEUVE Jean-Guy, DUBÉ Nathalie, HOBDAY Tina, DESHARNAIS Delbie, LEBEL François, COSSETTE Marie, Précis de droit professionnel (Summary of Professional Law), Éditions Yvon Blais Inc., Cowansville
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