Background

My client carried out landscaping services for his customer. For no apparent reason, the customer neglected to pay my client’s account for services he provided

Resolution

On instructions received from my client, I issued a claim in the small claims court to recover the principal amount of the debt, plus interest and court costs. The claim was served on the defendant. The defendant did not file a defence. Accordingly, I obtained a default judgment. Given that the debtor owned his home, immediately upon obtaining the default judgment I issued and filed a Writ of Seizure and Sale of Lands. Shortly after doing that, the debtor was trying to refinance the mortgage on his home. In order for him to be able to do so, he had to pay the amount owing on the judgment in order to have the Writ removed.
What was so nice about this matter is that it followed a smooth and uninterrupted path from issuing a Claim, to obtaining a judgment, to enforcing on the judgment, and to receiving full payment from a debtor who now had to pay not only the original account, but also court costs and interest when he could and should have just paid my client’s landscaping bill in the first place, but didn’t

Takeaways

There are two takeaways from this matter:

  • Most accounts that are due and owing that don’t involve a dispute between the parties are collectible relatively quickly through the courts without becoming bogged down in complex or drawn-out court proceedings.
  • If you have provided services or product for someone, you don’t have to let them get away without paying you for the work that you have done or the product that you have supplied, or both.