Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Canada

Re: Promissory note

We would require an initial retainer of $2,500 to assess whether your case may be appropriate for a contingency fee arrangement. The problem in a case like this is whether you will recover on a judgment. Your chances for recovery will be much better if you can somehow tie up property owned by FCH construction.

Re: Promissory note

There are at least a couple of factors that must be considered before your question can be properly answered:

1. Is the contractor a proprietorship or a limited company?

2. How much money is involved?

If the contractor is a limited company without any assets then the chances of getting your money back are probably less than if it is a proprietorship; having said that if the contractor is involved in other projects for other people it may be possible to obtain a court order forcing those other people to pay, not the contractor for the work done for them, but to pay you.

Many lawyers will agree to accept a percentage of the amount recovered, but there are some restrictions: a lawyer is paid 2 sorts of money for working for you.

The first is for the lawyer's professional fees and the second is for the expenses other than professional fees.

These expenses are for such things as court fees, process service charges, land and corporate registry searches and charges by the agents who do the searches, long distsnce calls, fax and photocopy charges, and a number of others. The law does not permit a lawyer to accept a case on the basis that he will be paid thes expenses only if he wins; you must pay them no matter what the outcome.

As to professional fees, many lawyers will accept a case on the basis that he will be paid only if he wins, but in order to assess the case the lawyer must know how much money is at stake and must know about what assets the debtor has. This requires various searches of things such as the land registry and corporate registry, for which you must normally pay. Then if the debtor has assets and the amount is large enough the lawyer may accept the case on a "pay only if you win" basis. This is called a "contingency fee". You shluld be aware however that because the lawyer is sharing the risk of loss with yo, the fees are calculated to be more than if the lawyer was paid on an hourly basis; often 2 to 3 times more. Because of that the lawyer must know all of the contract details and especially the amount involved.

It may be possible that you are the victim of civil fraud, in which case the owner of the company is possibly liable regardless of whether or not the company is a limited company or not. There is not enough information upon which to base a recommendation.

Re: Promissory note

There are at least a couple of factors that must be considered before your question can be properly answered:

1. Is the contractor a proprietorship or a limited company?

2. How much money is involved?

If the contractor is a limited company without any assets then the chances of getting your money back are probably less than if it is a proprietorship; having said that if the contractor is involved in other projects for other people it may be possible to obtain a court order forcing those other people to pay, not the contractor for the work done for them, but to pay you.

Many lawyers will agree to accept a percentage of the amount recovered, but there are some restrictions: a lawyer is paid 2 sorts of money for working for you.

The first is for the lawyer's professional fees and the second is for the expenses other than professional fees.

These expenses are for such things as court fees, process service charges, land and corporate registry searches and charges by the agents who do the searches, long distsnce calls, fax and photocopy charges, and a number of others. The law does not permit a lawyer to accept a case on the basis that he will be paid thes expenses only if he wins; you must pay them no matter what the outcome.

As to professional fees, many lawyers will accept a case on the basis that he will be paid only if he wins, but in order to assess the case the lawyer must know how much money is at stake and must know about what assets the debtor has. This requires various searches of things such as the land registry and corporate registry, for which you must normally pay. Then if the debtor has assets and the amount is large enough the lawyer may accept the case on a "pay only if you win" basis. This is called a "contingency fee". You shluld be aware however that because the lawyer is sharing the risk of loss with yo, the fees are calculated to be more than if the lawyer was paid on an hourly basis; often 2 to 3 times more. Because of that the lawyer must know all of the contract details and especially the amount involved.

It may be possible that you are the victim of civil fraud, in which case the owner of the company is possibly liable regardless of whether or not the company is a limited company or not. There is not enough information upon which to base a recommendation.