The consultant’s duties was to help our client to expand its business to Germany. As services were not offered in a promised volume, our client was not obliged to confirm the final report which was necessary for the consultancy company to get a payment.
The court clarified several important issues related to the provision of professional services:
1) the service provider must submit evidence about each activity it undertook to achieve the goal of the agreement;
2) activities prior to signing the agreement are usually only preparations for the agreement and not fulfilment of the contractual obligations;
3) service provider must fulfil the obligations personally, unless otherwise agreed;
4) in case the agreement was drafted by a third person (e.g. Enterprise Estonia), it must also be interpreted as a third party finds it fit.
According to Chirag, this is an important decision to professional services companies. It confirms that consultant’s must always document each activity they undertake to fulfill its services. In case they won’t document their activities and a dispute arises, they may not be entitled for a payment.
