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Stuart Kugler

partner

Practice areas

• Personal Injury
• Medical Malpractice
• Insurance & Professional Liability
• Class Action
• Commercial Litigation

Year of call to the bar

1999

Biography

Stuart is a Partner in the firm’s Litigation department. He regularly pleads cases before the courts of Quebec, and he has pleaded in the Supreme Court of Canada.

In 2022, Stuart was elected a Fellow of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers. This honor is awarded to trial lawyers in the United States and Canada who have demonstrated the highest standards of trial advocacy, ethical conduct, professionalism and collegiality.

Stuart’s primary areas of practice are Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Insurance, Class Actions, and Commercial Litigation.

Stuart has been representing victims of Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice for 24 years. He has handled many tragic cases involving catastrophic injuries and death, and always represents his clients with the highest level of diligence, professionalism, and compassion. Stuart and his partners regularly handle such cases on a contingency fee basis, which ensures that victims and their families have access to justice.

Over Stuart’s career, he is proud to have obtained very substantial monetary awards for his Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice clients, by way of judgments and settlements out-of-court. Several of these judgments have helped advance the law in Quebec concerning financial compensation for injured victims, and concerning obligations of safety towards sporting participants. Stuart has obtained judgments and settlements out-of-court for individuals who were injured in various sporting activities, such as snow-skiing, waterskiing, cycling, hockey, football, go-karting, and snowmobiling.

Stuart is honored to have been recognized as Montreal’s “Lawyer of the Year” in Personal Injury by The Best Lawyers in Canada for 2022 and 2023.

Stuart’s experience in Medical Malpractice is extensive. He has represented clients against doctors and hospitals in a variety of cases, including birth injuries, surgical negligence, misdiagnosis and late treatment of medical conditions, and failure to obtain patients’ informed consent. He has lectured at medical-legal conferences and at McGill University’s Faculty of Law on the subject of Medical Malpractice.

Stuart also specializes in matters of Insurance. He regularly handles complex property insurance cases on behalf of insurance companies, and he obtained a significant multi-million dollar judgment against a municipality for the fault of its firefighters. As well, Stuart frequently represents individuals in claims for disability insurance and life insurance benefits. He has also defended many claims against insurance companies, including claims of professional liability against attorneys.

Another of Stuart’s practice areas is Class Actions. He has acted on behalf of plaintiffs in class actions concerning product liability and securities, and he has obtained judgments which approved settlements out-of-court. He is currently representing plaintiffs in class actions relating to business interruption insurance, as well as securities. He has also represented several defendants in class actions relating to health care.

Stuart has also handled a variety of Commercial Litigation cases on behalf of individuals and companies. These cases have included contractual disputes, oppression recourses, estate disputes, and injunctions.

Stuart is married and the proud father of 2 daughters.

Please see the Judgments section, below, to view a sample of the Judgments that Stuart has obtained over his career.

Recognition

• Named “Lawyer of the Year” in Personal Injury (Montreal) by The Best Lawyers in Canada, for the years 2022 and 2023.
  
• Elected as a Fellow of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers in 2022.
• Recognized in The Best Lawyers in Canada in the fields of: Personal Injury, Health Care Law, Class Action, and Insurance Law.
• Recognized as a “Litigation Star” in Benchmark Canada: The Definitive Guide to Canada’s Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys.

Education

• McGill University, Bachelor of Commerce, 1994 (Dean’s Honour List)
• McGill University, Faculty of Law, B.C.L. and L.L.B., 1998 (Dean’s Honour List)

Judgments

• Climo v. ASN Canada FIA, 2022 QCCS 3538.
• Mainville v. Neopharm Labs Inc., 2022 QCCS 3279 (in appeal).
• IBS Capital v. RCGT Financement Corporatif inc., 2020 QCCA 1615.
• Zaccardo v. Chartis Insurance Company of Canada, 2016 QCCS 398, 2016 QCCA 787.
• Laval (Ville de) v. Factory Mutual Insurance Company, 2014 QCCA 1906, 2012 QCCS 6185
• Léveillé v. Avantage Link inc. (Nutri-Mer Inc. v. Avantage Link inc.), 2014 QCCS 5121
• Reliable Parts ltée v. Midbec ltée, 2014 QCCA 4, 2011 QCCS 4840
• Montréal (Ville de) v. Wilson Davies, 2013 QCCA 34, 2011 QCCS 4756
• Stations de la vallée de St-Sauveur inc. v. M.A., 2010 QCCA 1509, 2008 QCCS 240
• Castor Holdings Ltd., 2009 QCCA 829, 2008 QCCS 3437
• Raymond v. Goldberg, 2008 QCCS 5925
• ABB Inc. v. Domtar Inc., 2007 SCC 50, 2005 QCCA 732, 2003 CanLII 54531
• Lombard General Insurance company of Canada v. Libenstein, 2006 QCCA 664, 2004 CanLII 31661
• Moumdjian v. Aubin, 2006 QCCA 1264, 2004 CanLII 11982
• American Home, compagnie d’assurances v. Richardson, 2005 QCCA 1038

Professional Affiliations

• The Bar of Québec
• The Bar of Montréal
• The Canadian Bar Association
• The American College of Trial Lawyers