Montreal driver wins $2,000 in damages from city after flat tires from pothole

A Montreal man says it took three years and a trip to small claims court to hold the city accountable for a pothole that damaged his car.

Francesco Alessi was driving on Saint-Jacques Street in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce in 2021 when a pothole on the side of the road flattened two tires on his brand-new car. After the city denied his initial claim for compensation, Alessi took the city to small claims court.

“The answer was immediately, ‘no, it’s uncovered,'” Alessi said.

He added that the city told him the only way to file for compensation was through the courts.

Three years later, he won, walking away with more than $2,000.

But even after the legal victory, Alessi said the pothole remained unfilled. He told CityNews the city put orange cones around it for months before once again leaving it uncovered and unrepaired.

In a statement to CityNews, the borough of of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grace claimed it carried out several repairs to the pothole during the same year Alessi filed his court case.

“After verification with our teams, repairs have been carried out several times since 2021,” the statement read.

When CityNews visited the location with Alessi, the pothole appeared to be filled. But Alessi disputes the borough’s timeline, saying repairs didn’t come until at least 2023.

“The fact that they said they repaired it in 2021 is quite disconcerting.” he said. “That’s when the accident happened. The accident happened in 2021.”

CAA Quebec director André Durocher said Alessi is far from alone. He told CityNews that Montreal’s deteriorating roads have become an increasing concern for motorists, and urged residents to speak up.

“It may not necessarily be you as an individual calling this one time,” he said, “but the accumulation of everything will help strengthen the case and put pressure for things to be fixed.”

According to the city of Montreal, more than 1,100 motorists have filed claims for vehicle damage caused by poor road conditions so far in 2025 — a number that almost matches the city’s all-time record set in 2022.

Durocher recommends drivers gather as much evidence as possible and report damage immediately, including photos of the scene, the damage, and, if possible, their vehicle before and after.

“Cases like that bring the subject forward,” Durocher said. “There’s a strong message that will maybe a ripple effect and maybe cities will take these matters seriously.”

But even after over $2,000 later, Alessi said his case against the city was more about sending a message, telling CityNews that he did it to stand up for other road users who wouldn’t have the means to fight back like he did.

“There are a lot of people that sustain damages who are scraping by and struggling to put food on the table, and they pay their taxes and then to have to absorb those kind of expenses is sad,” Alessi said. “It was just by principle, I couldn’t let it go.”