Claims

The Legal Services and City Clerk’s Office manage all claims filed against the City of Westmount. An individual who claims to have suffered damages for which the City is liable may file a claim in order to receive compensation for the damages incurred.

Important: A notice given by phone or verbally does not constitute an adequate notice as per the Cities and Towns Act. A claim must be notified in writing to the City Clerk.

It is suggested that the claimant notify his or her personal insurance company, if any, of any damage or injury, suffered.

In order for the municipality to be required to indemnify the claimant, there must be a fault on the part of the City, as well as a causal link between the fault and the damage or injuries suffered.

Submit a claimContact the City

The City must receive a written notice within 15 days following the date of the accident. It is the responsibility of claimant to make sure that the City of Westmount has received the claim within the deadline.

The notice of claim must contain the following information:

• The first and last names of the claimant
• The address, phone number, and email address of the claimant
• The date and location of the accident
• The details of the damages suffered
• The indemnity sought and its value

The claimant must send to the City all supporting documents, such as photographs, invoices and estimates of the repairs, as soon as they become available.

Other than for safety measures, the claimant shall not modify the condition of the damaged properties, until after the visit of a representative.

Trees and Branches

In the case of damages caused by a tree or a branch fallen from a City tree, the City will be responsible and will have to pay a compensation if the City was negligent in how it maintained the tree.

The notice of claim must contain the following information:

• The first and last names of the claimant
• The address, phone number, and email address of the claimant
• The date and location of the accident
• The details of the injuries suffered
• The indemnity sought and its value

The claimant must send to the City all supporting documents, such as photographs, invoices and estimates of the repairs, as soon as they become available.

As per section 116 of the Automobile Insurance Act (CQLR, Chapter A-15), in the case of automobile accident involving a vehicle of the City, the owner of the damaged vehicle must notify his or her automobile insurer, if applicable, and can only exercise a recourse against the latter.

The notice of claim must include all pertinent documents (photographs, invoices and estimates, supporting documents, etc.). If the documents are not available at the time of the written notice, they can be forwarded to the Legal Services and City Clerk’s Office subsequently by indicating the file number, if any, or the name of the claimant and the object of the claim.

Once the notice is received by the Legal Services and City Clerk’s Office, the claimant will receive an acknowledgement of receipt.

Following an investigation, the City or its representative will inform the claimant in writing of the position of the City concerning the claim.

A claimant who is not satisfied by the decision taken by the City following a claim is entitled to undertake legal proceedings against the City.

In the case of damages to movable or immovable property, the claimant has to file for legal action within six months of the day the right of action accrued.

In the case of bodily injuries or damages, the claimant has to file for legal action for damages within three years of the day of the accident.

A buyer may be exempt from paying the duties on transfers in certain cases as set out in the Act respecting duties on transfers of immovables, R.S.Q., chapter D-15.1. The notary must mention the applicable exoneration, in accordance with the legislation, which exempt the buyer from paying the duties on transfers.

Main reasons justifying an exemption:

• Transfer to an ascendant or descendant in the direct line (sale from father to son; from grandmother to granddaughter);
• Where the transferor is a natural person and the transferee is a legal person with 90% of its issued shares with full voting rights are owned by the transferor;
• Transfer between married couples or between de facto spouses (as defined in the Act respecting duties on transfers of immovables). Same sex partners are included in the provisions of the law.

Common-law spouses who separate have 12 months after their separation to transfer the property rights. Beyond this deadline, the transfer will not be exempt. Married spouses who separate have 30 days after the date of the divorce judgment to make the transfer if this judgment does not assign ownership of the building to one or the other of the spouses.

The Act foresees several other exemption situations.

Exemptions from the payment of duties on transfers can be revoked. This is notably the case following a transfer of shares modifying the control of a company (90% or more of the votes). The purchaser of the immovable has the obligation to disclose the cessation of the right to an exemption by using the disclaimer form Divulgation exoneration. Once completed, this form will be sent to the City of Westmount offices. Taxpayers who have questions can contact us at the following email address: taxation@westmount.org.

When a condition for exemption is no longer met

To ensure that the transfer duty is collected when an exemption condition is no longer met, every transferee exempt from payment of transfer duty will be required to notify the municipality in which the immovable is located within 90 days after the date on which the exemption condition ceases to be met.

The transfer duty resulting from cessation of compliance with the exemption condition will be payable prior to the 31st day after the municipality sends the invoice to the transferee.

You a required to a complete and submit Form B, when an exemption condition is no longer met.

These new rules also introduce corresponding amendments to the Taxation Act. The transferee of an immovable who does not file the aforementioned mandatory notice of disclosure within 90 days of a transfer, will be required to pay special duties equal to 150% of the transfer duties, plus interest. These special duties must be paid within 30 days of a notice of assessment being issued. Note that transfers made prior to March 18, 2016 on an exempt basis remain subject to the acquisition of control rules.

Form B* - When a condition for exemption is no longer met

Special duties

Special duties are a form of compensation in lieu of transfer duties that are billed to buyers whose transaction is exempted.

The Act respecting duties on transfers of immovables – R.S.Q., chapter D-15.1), amended December 20, 1999, sets the amount of the special duties in accordance with the transferred values:

It is important to note that pursuant to certain statutory provisions of the Cities and Towns Act (CQLR, Chapter C-19) (hereinafter, CTA) and the Automobile Insurance Act (CQLR, Chapter A-15), the City of Westmount cannot be held responsible for damages suffered, among others, in the situations described below.

Official statutes always have precedence on the content of the present section. Quebec laws can be consulted on the website of Légis Québec