Our lawyers specializing in professional services, accounting, and financial law in Montreal can guide and answer your questions regarding the highly regulated legal framework of this industry. Whether you are the manager of a professional office or an independent professional, we can assist you in securing payment for unpaid fees and represent you in case of a dispute. We can also review and prepare your policies and draft your employment or service contracts.
Legal Expertise and Legal Advice
Providing professional and financial services can be mentally demanding. Each area has specific laws, precise regulations, and it is crucial to have clarity. Our lawyers can help you fully grasp what specialized laws require of you, in addition to the more general laws that apply, such as the Civil Code of Quebec, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases, the Act Respecting Labour Standards which includes protection against psychological harassment, and much more.
Informed Advice and Regulatory Compliance:
Informed Advice and Regulatory Compliance:
Accounting firms (CPAs), real estate brokers, mortgage brokers, property and casualty insurance brokerage firms, personal insurance brokerage firms, and securities advisors each face their own challenges specific to their sector. This may be in relation to human resources, employees, complaints made to professional or regulatory orders, claims in professional liability, or unpaid receivables.
From our clients' experience, we understand that you may be running a business as an independent professional, which comes with its own challenges.
Whether it is in your relationships with clients or in getting invoices paid by them, support during disputes or negotiations can be reassuring.
Our lawyers will explain how we can assist you with an action on account, the steps involved, and the advantages and disadvantages of this type of action.
Action on Account
Action on Account
An action on account is defined as an introductory claim filed to recover unpaid sums. A client who has not honored their payment obligation for an invoice could be sued by you to recover the outstanding account. However, before filing an introductory claim, it is preferable to take a few preliminary steps within the 3-year limitation period as indicated by article 2925 of the Civil Code of Quebec.
Preliminary Steps
Preliminary Steps
When supporting our clients, we always seek to offer the most advantageous solutions. Thus, in many cases, our lawyers will prioritize small actions that are not very costly for our clients and are often likely to work or initiate negotiation.
In the case of an unpaid invoice or account receivable, we believe it is wise to re-send a notice of overdue invoice in your clients' preferred mode, either by email or by mail. A reminder phone call can also be useful.
The Formal Notice
The Formal Notice
The formal notice is also a preliminary step to the action on account. It is useful for several reasons. Firstly, if your invoices do not provide an interest rate in case of non-payment, the formal notice will then include a demand to pay, and if this is not the case, interest will begin to run. Additionally, a formal notice has an extra element of force due to its formal nature, and it is the last step before filing a court claim. Often, the fact that a formal notice is signed by a lawyer adds a level of seriousness to your approach towards the client. Indeed, the client should know that lawyers will advise their clients to recover the amounts as quickly as possible.
Negotiation
Negotiation
After the formal notice is sent, we wait to see if the client will communicate with us to arrange a payment agreement, pay the full amount, or present any defense they may have. If the client in default indicates disagreement with the work performed or any other element, our lawyers can analyze with you the validity of their claims, applicable laws, and available remedies to determine if there is room for negotiation.
Lawsuit
Lawsuit
If negotiations fail or no response is received, it is possible to file a lawsuit or originating application in the legal jargon. Depending on the unpaid amount, the court used to file the application will differ. If you are acting as an individual in the course of your professional services, or if it concerns your company and it employed no more than 10 people during the 12 months preceding the claim, and it involves a sum of $15,000.00 or less, excluding interest, then the claim can be filed in the Quebec Court — small claims division. A lawyer cannot represent the parties in this court, but we can equip you with the knowledge of which documents and representations are important to make to ensure all possible elements are in your favor.
For claims ranging from $15,000.01 to $74,999.99, your case falls under the authority of the Quebec Court. If your claim is between $75,000.00 and $99,999.99, you have the option to choose between the Quebec Court and the Superior Court of Québec. Claims of $100,000 or more are under the authority of the Superior Court of Québec.
Judgment
Judgment
Following representations made in court, a judgment will be rendered in the following weeks. If no response has been given within 15 days to the introductory claim, a default judgment can be rendered. The judgment will then include, in the conclusions and in the event of a favorable outcome, an order for payment of the due sum with interest. The client will be required to pay you within the time granted by the court. In the last case where you do not receive payment, our lawyers can still assess the relevance of conducting a seizure after the judgment to obtain payment. Of course, bailiff costs to enforce the judgment will apply, and considering that the judgment extends the extinctive prescription to 10 years, an analysis is pertinent to determine what is most advantageous for you.
Whatever your situation, it is important to consult one of our lawyers in professional, accounting, and financial services to get help and legal advice specific to your sector of activity and support through all the steps.