Executive Summary: Key Legal and Evidentiary Issues

• A small claims dispute arose after a corporate client refused to pay legal fees for real estate acquisition services.
   
• Nina inc. argued the lawyer's work was inadequate but offered no expert evidence to support the claim.
   
• Testimony from the client's representative was contradicted by a notarial deed and a bankruptcy trustee's email.
   
• Quebec's balance-of-probabilities standard required the defendant to substantiate its allegations with credible evidence.
   
• Court costs and contractual interest accompanied the principal claim for unpaid fees.
   
• Judge Magali Lewis ultimately found the fee agreement enforceable and the invoice properly billed.
   

Facts of the case

In October 2023, Les Produits Nina inc. retained Blanchard Avocats inc. to assist with the acquisition of a building. Their fee agreement set an hourly rate of $300, required an advance of $8,623.14, and provided for interest of 1% per month (12.68% annually) on overdue amounts starting eleven days after an invoice was sent. Nina inc.'s owner, Yuet Lan Mo, signed the agreement both personally and as an officer of the company. In July 2024, at Nina inc.'s request, Blanchard prepared and personally delivered an invoice for $14,335.07, reflecting 78 hours of work with a 15% discount already applied. Neither Ms. Mo nor Carlos Carvalho, who identified himself at trial as the company's manager, raised any concerns about the services or the bill at the time. Blanchard sent a formal demand letter in November 2024, followed by several reminders, but the invoice remained unpaid, prompting the claim before the Court of Québec's Small Claims Division.

Nina inc. contested the claim on the basis that Blanchard's services had not been adequate. It indicated it would provide supporting details but never did so before trial, and it filed no documentary evidence backing its position.

Policy and legislative provisions at issue

Central to the dispute was a deed of sale for the property Nina inc. had sought to acquire, which Blanchard introduced at trial to counter claims that its work had been unrelated to any bankruptcy proceeding. The deed obliged the buyer to arrange, at its own cost, the removal of registrations affecting the property and to waive claims against the seller arising from third-party actions — expressly including any claim by the trustee in bankruptcy of Réal Brochu, though carving out challenges to the sale's validity itself. On price, the deed set the purchase at $365,000, with $300,000 already paid and the $65,000 balance held in trust by the buyer's lawyers, to be released to the seller six months after signing, or handled differently if bankruptcy-related proceedings were commenced against the transfer before then. The Tribunal also considered a July 2024 email from bankruptcy trustee Mathieu Roy, responding to a purchase offer Blanchard had submitted on Nina inc.'s behalf. The trustee explained that he held only an indirect interest in the property as a shareholder of the corporate owner, that the property's minimum value was likely $600,000 or more, and that any offer would need further negotiation with mortgage creditors and a co-shareholder's counsel.

Reasoning and analysis

Judge Lewis applied Quebec's balance-of-probabilities standard, under which each party must prove the facts supporting its position, and the party with the more convincing evidence prevails. Mr. Carvalho testified that Blanchard's services were unhelpful, pointing to the fact that a different lawyer retained in September 2024 finalized the transaction within weeks. However, he could not explain how Blanchard had failed to represent the company's interests, nor provide any detail on the replacement lawyer's work or hours. When Blanchard produced the September 2024 deed of sale to rebut the claim that the acquisition had no bankruptcy connection, Mr. Carvalho disputed its accuracy but, having appeared without any supporting documents, could not identify what was wrong with it or produce an alternative. Ms. Mo declined the Tribunal's invitation to testify. The judge found no reason to doubt the deed's reliability, noting it had been printed from the Quebec Land Registry, and found it — together with the trustee's email — contradicted Mr. Carvalho's account of the transaction. The judge further noted that Blanchard's billing records showed Mr. Carvalho had been in regular contact throughout, undermining any suggestion that Nina inc. was unaware of the fees it would owe. Citing prior case law, the judge observed that where a client challenges a lawyer's professional competence, expert evidence is ordinarily necessary to support such a challenge, and that a layperson's opinion, contradicted by a notarial deed and unsupported by other documentation, carries no evidentiary weight.

Ruling and overall outcome

Finding no evidence that Blanchard's services were inadequate or that they failed to advance the acquisition ultimately completed by another lawyer, the Tribunal allowed the claim in full. It ordered Les Produits Nina inc., the unsuccessful party, to pay $14,335.07 to Blanchard Avocats inc., the successful party, with interest at 12.68% annually plus the additional indemnity under article 1619 of the Civil Code of Québec running from November 6, 2024, along with $451.84 in court costs covering the filing fee and process server charges.