Are you looking for a debt recovery law firm in Quebec to recover money owed to you?
Perhaps you are looking to better understand how a law firm in Quebec may approach debt collection?
What techniques will a debt recovery law firm in Quebec employ to recover debt?
We have good news!
This is the right article for you.
In this article, we look at how a law firm in Quebec will handle debt collection and recovery for you. What are the different types of debt collection matters, what type of investigation should we do prior to starting legal proceedings, how do we enforce the creditor’s rights, seizure before judgment, Mareva injunction, Norwich injunction and more!
This article is divided into the following sections:
- Type of Debt Collection Matters
- Investigation of Debtor Assets
- Enforcement of Creditor Rights
- Seizure Before Judgment
- Urgent Equitable Remedies
- Our Debt Recovery Law Firm In Quebec
Let’s get started!
Type of Debt Collection Matters
Doing business can have upsides and in some cases downsides.
All businesses are exposed to debt collection matters at some point in time.
You will have some clients that will give you a hard time paying for your products and services.
Other clients will just unscrupulously fail to pay you.
There are many instances where a client, supplier, partner or someone you’ve done business with will fail to pay you and breach their contractual terms or the law.
Here are some type of debt collection matters that we see often:
- Unpaid sale of goods
- Unpaid service fees
- Default payment on loans
- Default payment on a promissory note
- Default payment on commercial rent
- Default payment due to insolvency
- Default payment due to bad faith
- Default payment due to unfounded invoice disputes
No matter the reason, when you are owed money and the other party has not paid you even after repeated demands, you have a debt collection matter to deal with.
Investigation of Debtor Assets
Experienced debt collection lawyers will want to investigate the debtor financial position and circumstances prior to filing any form of lawsuit.
This is important to determine whether or not the debtor has any valuable or high-quality assets you can potentially exercise your recovery claim against.
During this investigation, it will be useful to find the location of where the debtor is holding its assets.
Does the debtor hold liquid assets held in a bank or financial institution?
Does the debtor hold real estate property or equipment against which we can exercise legal action to seize or recover?
Has the debtor fraudulently or deliberately hidden assets or has squandered them to frustrate you and other creditors?
Has the debtor granted you or other creditors a guarantee or hypothec on a real estate property or equipment against which you can exercise your legal action?
An initial investigation and preliminary discovery of the debt collection case can provide important clues helping your lawyers attack the creditor to successfully collect your money.
Enforcement of Creditor Rights
Debt recovery lawyers and law firms will have the legal ability to enforce your rights as a creditor so you get paid.
There are many ways we can enforce your rights:
- Enforcement of a contractual obligation to get paid
- Enforcement of a promissory note
- Enforcement of an acknowledgment of debt
- Exercise of lien and hypothec against property or equipment
- Multi-jurisdictional enforcement of your rights
- Recovery of assets in other jurisdictions
Depending on the initial investigation conducted on the debtor, the location of assets, the different jurisdictions involved, availability of liens or hypothecs and the quality of assets in the debtor’s possession, debt collection lawyers will devise the most optimal legal action and enforcement strategy to get maximum value for you.
This exercise is an important one.
You want to have a clear plan of action when engaging in a legal battle with your debtor.
It’s important to file your lawsuit in the proper jurisdiction in such a way that you can attack the highest quality assets as possible.
Perhaps, you may want to exercise your recourse in a jurisdiction that will provide you a greater chance of success to win your case although there may be fewer assets held by the debtor.
Your lawsuit and litigation strategy will depend on the urgency of the matter, the value you are claiming, where the assets are located and the debtor’s behavior in managing his assets.
Seizure Before Judgment
In debt recovery cases in Quebec where a possible seizure before judgment may be possible, your debt recovery lawyer will need to discuss that with you.
The purpose of a seizure before judgment is to protect the debtor’s property during the legal proceedings.
What’s interesting with a seizure before judgment is that it can be exercised before the commencement of the legal proceedings.
You either have a de facto legal right to seize a property or you may need the authorization of the court.
If you need the court’s authorization, what is interesting is that you’ll present your case without the presence of the debtor and get a judgment to seize the debtor’s assets or property.
In the Province of Quebec, the following assets may be seized before judgment without the authorization of the court:
- Equipment and movable assets the creditor has legal rights on or title
- movable property the plaintiff is permitted by law to seize in order to secure the exercise of rights in the property
You will need the authorization of the court to seize the following:
- seize technological assets or documents stored in a technological medium
- If you fear that the defendant may jeopardize the property before final judgment is rendered
It’s important to evaluate the opportunity of exercising a seizure before judgment in the event the debtor is using assets you own or you fear that the debtor will hide or squander its assets.
Urgent Equitable Remedies
You may also exercise other urgent and equitable remedies in the context of your debt recovery matter.
Mareva Injunction
A Mareva injunction is a known form of injunction that can help you ensure the debtor does not squander or hide assets to prevent you from exercising your judgment.
On March 20, 2019, in the case of Desjardins Assurances Générales Inc. vs. Malo, the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled on the possibility of publishing a Mareva injunction order in the land register.
This is the first time in the Province of Quebec that such an injunction is authorized to be published.
A Mareva injunction is different than a typical seizure before judgment order where the judgment is issued against targeted assets.
In a Mareva injunction, the injunction is against the defendant as an entity or person prohibiting the disposal of any of its assets regardless of where those assets are located.
It allows the defendant’s assets to be frozen in the defendant’s own hands and in the hands of third parties like banks.
Norwich Injunction
Another tool in the debt recovery lawyer’s toolbox is the Norwich Injunction.
This is an injunction where you demand documents and information from third parties about the debtor and his assets.
As of June 12, 2013, Norwich injunctions are authorized in Quebec further to the Quebec Court of Appeal’s decision in Fers et Métaux Américains S.E.C. et als. vs. Picard et als.
In this particular case, the Court issued a Norwich injunction ordering several financial institutions to disclose confidential information relating to the defendants, without the defendant’s knowledge, so to find and trace funds fraudulently misappropriated by the defendant.
This can be an interesting option for collecting the necessary information and data about the debtor and potentially recoverable assets.
Our Debt Recovery Law Firm In Quebec
Our law firm practices in the area of debt collection and recovery in the Province of Quebec.
If you need a debt recovery law firm in Quebec, we’ve got you covered!
We help individuals and businesses recover money owed to them by taking a strategic and proper legal recourse to seize the relevant assets, quickly obtain a judgment from the court and execute the judgment against the defendant.
We work with the creditor in a collaborative fashion, define the unique elements of the case, define a strategy based on the timeline, budget and lawsuit success potential and execute on that strategy with force.
Should you wish to speak to our debt recovery lawyers, feel free to reach out to us.
