CIVIL CODE |
Corriveau (Estate) v. Proulx
ITA-691-02
2003 FCT 122, Morneau P.
4/2/03
8 p.
Motion by judgment creditor, Her Majesty the Queen, for purposes of obtaining garnishee order absolute against garnishee, Benoît Proulx--Apparently not disputed that judgment creditor justified in wishing to garnishee fees owed by garnishee to judgment debtor--Difficulty lying in amount judgment creditor may claim from garnishee--Judgment creditor arguing that entitled to garnishee 30% of sums received by garnishee from Attorney General of Quebec, pursuant to fees agreement executed on August 6, 1997, between garnishee and his solicitor (30% agreement)--Civil Code of Québec (CCQ), art. 2863 providing that parties to juridical act set forth in writing may not contradict or vary terms of writing by testimony unless there is commencement of proof--Here, once garnishee received some money in context of litigation between him and Attorney General of Quebec, he had obligation to give percentage of that money to Lawrence Corriveau--Court does not share opinion of garnishee's counsel that to implement 30% agreement would tend to give legal profession the character of market-driven, profit-oriented undertaking since fees equivalent to 30% of sum received by garnishee would be disproportionate to services rendered-- Nothing conclusive was put in evidence in this regard-- Judgment creditor entitled to garnishee 30% of sum that garnishee received from Attorney General of Quebec, since most recent of written fees agreements executed by garnishee and late Lawrence Corriveau, on its face, one providing for the 30% fees--Civil Code of Québec, S.Q. 1991, c. 64, art. 2863.