2023 QCCQ 334, 2023 QCCQ 334

Bougas c. Schuler 2023 QCCQ 334 COURT OF QUEBEC Small Claims Division CANADA PROVINCE OF QUEBEC DISTRICT OF MONTREAL Civil Division No: 500-32-712911-207 DATE: January 30, 2023 ______________________________________________________________________ BY THE HONOURABLE ELIANA MARENGO, J.C.Q. ______________________________________________________________________ HELEN BOUGAS Plaintiff v. RITA SCHULER Defendant ______________________________________________________________________ JUDGMENT RENDERED FROM THE BENCH ______________________________________________________________________

PREAMBLE [ 1 ] At the outset, it is important to note that, during the hearing, having begun her testimony and after the Court asked the court clerk to verify the Registraire des entreprises du Québec , defendant suddenly and surreptitiously took her things and left the court room, while the undersigned was in chambers. In the judge’s absence, defendant asked plaintiff to simply, "Tell the judge that I am going to the bathroom, because I have diarrhea". [ 2 ] Afterwards, the bailiff and the court clerk went looking for defendant in the corridor and in the washroom, but were unable to find her.

Defendant never came back. [ 3 ] Judgment was therefore rendered from the bench in her absence.

ANALYSIS AND DECISION [ 4 ] An agreement for the referral services of nannies intervened between the parties, on August 16, 2019, which agreement was signed by both parties, although defendant denied signing it, in her written contestation (agreement, exhibit P-1). [ 5 ] During the term of the agreement, and more specifically around the month of July, 2020, plaintiff paid defendant the sum of $2,500.00, for services which defendant promised to render, but never did. [ 6 ] Rather than return the money to plaintiff, defendant firstly feigned having lost it in a taxi; and then, rather than give plaintiff an honest reply to her demand letter (exhibit P-3), she astoundingly alleged that plaintiff was "confusing her with someone else".

In fact, at this point in time, the parties had had a long-standing friendly relationship over the course of many months; plaintiff had even been to defendant’s home with her children (that which defendant admits in her written contestation). [ 7 ] At Court, defendant repeatedly contradicted herself. [ 8 ] Defendant claimed that she was only "helping out " one Steven Levary, who allegedly ran "Hadley Reese", and that the

business was not hers. [ 9 ] Upon closer examination of the Registraire des entreprises du Québec , the Court learned that Levary operated an adult entertainment business, inter alia , and defendant worked as a "designer".

The declared domicile for both is [...], Montréal (Québec) [...], although, at Court, defendant acted as if she knew little about "Hadley Reese" or Levary. [ 10 ] Be that as it may, it is abundantly clear from plaintiff’s credible testimony and from the exhibits, that an agreement for services did indeed intervene between the parties, and that defendant did not render the services she promised she would, in return for the amount of $2,500.00 which plaintiff paid her.

In so doing, she contravened art. 2100 of the Civil Code of Québec and arts. 40, 41, 219, 227, 228, 272 of the Consumer Protection Act . [1] [ 11 ] Whereas plaintiff proved the facts alleged in her application according to the preponderance of evidence (arts. 2803 and 2804 C.C.Q.); WHEREFORE THE COURT HEREBY: GRANTS plaintiff's application; CONDEMNS Rita Schuler to pay plaintiff the sum of $2,500.00, plus interest at the legal annual rate and the additional indemnity provided for in

section 1619 of the Civil Code of Québec , from August 20, 2020, and legal costs in the amount of $104.00. __________________________________ ELIANA MARENGO, J.C.Q. Date of hearing: January 30, 2023