Langlois Kronström Desjardins recently successfully defended Mr. Claude Chagnon against an action seeking damages of more than $23 million brought by Quebecor Media Inc. and Videotron Group Ltd. that alleged insider trading and breach of directors & officers’ fiduciary duty.

The plaintiffs maintained that Mr. Chagnon was guilty of insider trading by having accepted a grant of stock options from Videotron Group upon becoming its president and CEO, all the while knowing that Rogers Communications Inc. was about to make a bid to purchase Videotron Group at an inflated share price. The plaintiffs also maintained that Mr. Chagnon thereby breached his duty of disclosure and his fiduciary duty towards Videotron Group.

In his defence, Mr. Chagnon countered that he was never in possession of privileged information as defined in Quebec’s Securities Act, since at the time the discussions concerning the grant of his stock options took place, he was not apprised of Rogers Communications’ intention to acquire Videotron Group and, furthermore, when he learned of that intention, the context in which the information was exchanged undermined its credibility to the extent that no one considered it of any importance. Given the unreliability of the information, he was under no obligation to disclose it to Videotron Group’s board of directors.

Justice Brian Riordan of Quebec’s Superior Court held that the evidence did not allow him to conclude that Mr. Chagnon had breached either the Securities Act or any fiduciary duty or duty of disclosure. At the end of his decision, the judge had this to say regarding the professionalism of the trial lawyers:

 “[TRANSLATION] It would also be unjust to sign such a judgment without acknowledging the enormous contribution of all the attorneys who appeared before the Court during the trial. Thanks to their professionalism, we were given a complete and objective account of the relevant facts and the state of the law. Moreover, without for a moment letting down their guard in their respective efforts to advocate the cause of their clients, they were able to maintain throughout the trial that atmosphere of respect, courtesy and cordiality which should always prevail in court but, unfortunately, all too often gives way to arguing and insults. The Court is deeply grateful.”
Raynold Langlois, Suzanne Benoît, Marie-Geneviève Masson and Rebecca Saint-Pierre are proud to have represented Mr. Chagnon in this matter.

Raynold Langlois, Suzanne Benoît, Marie-Geneviève Masson et Rebecca St-Pierre sont fiers d’avoir représenté M. Claude Chagnon dans cette affaire.