2018 QCCQ 7506, 2018 QCCQ 7506

Arcobelli c. Paré 2018 QCCQ 7506 COURT OF QUEBEC “ Small Claims Division “ CANADA PROVINCE OF QUEBEC DISTRICT OF MONTRÉAL “ Civil Division “ No: 500-32-156492-177 DATE: October 12, 2018 ______________________________________________________________________ BY THE HONOURABLE VINCENZO PIAZZA, J.C.Q. ______________________________________________________________________ VINCENT ARCOBELLI Plaintiff v. NANCY PARÉ Defendant ______________________________________________________________________ JUDGMENT ______________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ] Mr.

Arcobelli, who is a civil engineer, is suing Mrs. Paré, on account, for professional services rendered. His invoice, in the amount of $3,230.80, is for a home inspection, as well as preliminary structural assessments and budgetary estimates for eventual modifications of the house. [ 2 ] Mrs. Paré contests the claim. She pleads that: (1) she was not given enough time to read the contract for professional services before being forced by Mr. Arcobelli to sign it, and was not provided a copy of said contract,

(2) Mr. Arcobelli’s invoice is excessive, in that it is three times higher than the market rate for comparable services and includes expenses that were not agreed to,

(3) Mr. Arcobelli’s engineering services pertaining to an eventual modification of the house were requested by and rendered to the exclusive benefit of her son, Marc Paré. ANALYSIS [ 3 ] The fact that Mrs. Paré was not given a copy of the contract upon its signature is not material, as Mr. Arcobelli is not a “merchant” within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act [1] . Likewise, the Court believes that Mrs. Paré, who is undoubtedly an intelligent and articulate woman, was not coerced by Mr. Arcobelli into signing the contract, but rather knew what she was doing when she did. [ 4 ] As regards Mrs.

Paré’s second argument, the contract does state that Mr. Arcobelli is to invoice fees for his services and expenses . Mr. Arcobelli has not established that the amount of $450 before taxes charged as expenses, vaguely described in his invoice as “travel, photos, office”, does indeed relate to actual expenses. [ 5 ] Mr. Arcobelli recognized, in email exchanges with Mrs. Paré [2] and at trial, that his engineering services pertaining to an eventual modification of the house were requested by and rendered to the exclusive benefit of her son, Marc Paré. Therefore, the time spent on the file by Mr.

Arcobelli on January 10, 20 and 21, 2017, amounting to 3.5 hours, should not have been charged to Mrs. Paré. [ 6 ] While it is true that no proof was made by Mrs. Paré of what the market rate is for comparable services, the fact remains that with the exception of his services consisting in structural assessments, drawings and budgetary estimates, Mr. Arcobelli’s services were rather basic, run-of-the-mill, ordinary home inspection work. [ 7 ] The Code of Ethics of Engineers [3] provides as follows: § 8. — Determination and payment of fees 3.08.01.

An engineer must charge and accept fair and reasonable fees. 3.08.02. Fees are considered fair and reasonable when they are justified by the circumstances and correspond to the services rendered. In determining his fees, the engineer must, in particular, take the following factors into account: (

a) the time devoted to the carrying out of the mandate; (

b) the difficulty and magnitude of the mandate; (

c) the performance of unusual services or services requiring exceptional competence or speed; (

d) the responsibility assumed. 3.08.03. An engineer must inform his client of the approximate cost of his services and of the terms and conditions of payment. He must

refrain from demanding advance payment of his fees; he may, however, request a deposit. 3.08.04. An engineer must give his client all the necessary explanations for the understanding of his statement of fees and the terms and conditions of its payment. [ 8 ] In light of this, the Court considers, in its discretion, that Mr. Arcobelli’s time-entry of January 17, 2017, for the preparation of his preliminary report, should be reduced from 5.5 to 1.5 hours. A global allocation of $140.00 for expenses also seems reasonable. [ 9 ] Mr. Arcobelli’s invoice is thus reduced as follows: 9.1.

Fees: 7.25 hours * $160/hour = $1,160.00 9.2. Expenses: $140.00 9.3. Taxes: $194.68 9.4. Total: $1,494.68 FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT: GRANTS the action, in part; CONDEMNS Nancy Paré to pay $1,494.68 to Vincent Arcobelli, with interest at the legal rate and the additional indemnity provided by

article 1619 of the Civil Code of Quebec , to accrue from June 26, 2017, with costs of $100.00. __________________________________ VINCENZO PIAZZA, J.C.Q. Date of hearing: June 12, 2018