Claiming Solicitor-Client Fees When Enforcing Contractual Rights In Quebec

Among the first questions that a client tends to ask his attorney prior to instituting legal proceedings for the enforcement of a contract or a contractual right is: Who is going to pay my legal fees?

Indeed, the notion that an aggrieved party must bear the costs associated with such a law suit is a tough pill for most to swallow. It is an even tougher pill when the attorney, a member of the Quebec Bar Association, has to explain that such costs are not recoverable under Quebec law, save in certain exceptional cases (ex. abuse of proceedings or when specifically provided for by legislation).

To get around this apparent injustice, many contracts now provide for the payment of extrajudicial fees (i.e. solicitor-client fees) by the defaulting party, and since 2010, the Quebec authorities have consistently accepted a variety of such provisions (except where they appear in consumer contracts for which there is clear consumer protection legislation prohibiting such