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Two class-action lawsuits have been filed in Quebec Superior Court after heavy rains on June 20 led to flooding in parts of Montreal’s West Island.
The proposed lawsuits target the City of Montreal, the borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro and the City of Dollard-des-Ormeaux. It alleges the municipalities didn’t do enough to mitigate known flood risks.
According to Jeff Orenstein, a lawyer with Consumer Law Group, they “failed to take proper action to address the risk of flooding by installing adequate systems that absorb, detain and slowly release rainwater such as sponge parks.”
Environment Canada said the flooding happened after a series of “near-stationary thunderstorms” dumped between 100 and 170 millimetres of rain on the region.
Two weeks later, Dollard-des-Ormeaux resident Mike Silverman said he’s disappointed with how the city has handled the situation.
More than 300 homes flooded in the Montreal borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro and the city of Dollard-des-Ormeaux on Saturday evening. For many residents, this wasn’t the first time they were hit hard by flooding. Now, some worry their insurance companies may not be willing to step up anymore.
Silverman claims the flooding in his home caused $100,000 in damages and the city has yet to clear the debris left out in front of his house.
Not the first flood
But more than anything, he says he’s upset the city hasn’t figured out a solution to avoid future incidents of flooding from storm water.
This is the second time his home has been flooded. The last time was in 2024, when the remnants of tropical storm Debby drenched southern Quebec, including the island of Montreal.
He worries about what will happen if there’s a third.
“I don’t even know what my insurance is going to do for the next time if they’re going to cover me and I may have to find new insurance and, again, pay more money out of my pocket,” he said.
He says after the 2024 storm, Dollard-des-Ormeaux had ample time to set up flood mitigation measures.
Priority is to avoid flooding happening again
Orenstein said while they intend to sue for damages, the number one priority expressed by people he’s spoken to is making sure this never happens again.
That’s the case for Pierrefonds-Roxboro flood victim Myriam Guadelli.
“We just moved in a year ago and we’re throwing away things that I just bought. We’re throwing away memories,” she said. “It’s devastating.”
The City of Montreal says it’s developing new ways to mitigate flash floods in the future, on top of looking to add more sponge parks and retention basins. Torrential rains fell on Montreal’s West Island in a matter of hours on Saturday. Flooding some residents’ homes for the fourth time since 2017.
She says her basement was flooded on June 20 and the last two weeks have been incredibly stressful, as she has yet to hear back from her insurance company.
“If we can stop this from happening again in the future, then that’s a huge win for me,” Guadelli said.
“But that change is not going to be made if we don’t force it. And I think the class action lawsuit is what’s needed to force the city to change.”
Both Silverman and Gaudelli filed claims for damages with their cities, and are among the 625 people Orenstein says have signed on to the class action.
The deadline to make a claim — as prescribed by law, is Monday, July 6 — 15 days after the flood.
Orenstein said while his firm has six months to submit the class action, he’s recommending residents hurry up and file their claims with the city first.
“Just to be safe and also let the city know that we plan to hold them responsible, I think it’s still important to file your notice of claim.
The class action has yet to be authorized and none of the allegations have been proven in court.
CBC News reached out to the cities of Montreal and Dollard-des-Ormeaux for comment, but did not get a response before publishing.
