In its recent decision in Syndic de Bopack inc. (2025 QCCA 909), the Quebec Court of Appeal reaffirmed the principle that, in matters governed by the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the deadline for filing a notice of appeal is ten days from the date of the judgment.
This principle is particularly important to bear in mind, as in civil matters, the time limit for filing an appeal is calculated from the date of the notice of judgment, provided the judgment was not delivered orally at the hearing.
Moreover, particular attention must be paid to appeals in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings, as the time limit for filing an appeal is ten days, in contrast to the standard thirty-day period applicable in civil matters1.
In Syndic de Bopack inc. the appellants, having failed to file a notice of appeal within the ten-day delay, petitioned the Court of Appeal to be relieved of their default in appealing the judgment rendered by the Superior Court within the prescribed delay.
The Court of Appeal considered the following criteria:
- whether the appellants intended to appeal the decision prior to the expiration of the ten-day statutory delay;
- whether they communicated this intention to the respondent within this delay, either implicitly or explicitly, and, if so, the reasons for their failure to do so;
- whether the respondent would suffer prejudice as a result of an extension of the time limit; and
- whether the appeal had a reasonable chance of success.
The Court of Appeal found that, although the appellants’ failure to file their notice of appeal within the prescribed delay was due to an error on the part of their lawyers, the appellants had not manifested their intention to appeal the Superior Court’s judgment within the ten-day delay.
Furthermore, the Court of Appeal concluded that the appeal did not present a reasonable chance of success and accordingly dismissed the appellants’ motion to be relieved of their failure to appeal within the applicable delay.
Me Annie Claude Beauchemin and Me Juliana Boutot represented the respondent in this case, both in front of the Superior Cour and the Court of Appeal.
1Except in the cases provided for in article 361 of the Code of Civil Procedure
