Full Recovery of Unpaid Settlement Amount Following Termination of an Online Lecture Filming Agreement

Client Information

Individual / Plaintiff
 

Case Details

The client operated an online educational content production business and entered into a service agreement with an instructor to film a series of online lectures.

A dispute arose after the instructor failed to perform the agreed filming obligations. To resolve the matter, the parties signed a settlement agreement under which the instructor agreed to pay the settlement amount in installments.

The instructor made the first two installment payments but stopped responding before the final payment became due.

The client subsequently filed a criminal complaint for fraud. However, the investigating authority issued a non-referral decision after finding insufficient evidence to establish fraudulent intent.

The client then sought legal advice from Decent Law Firm on whether the unpaid settlement amount could still be recovered through civil proceedings, notwithstanding the outcome of the criminal investigation.

Decent Law Firm structured the claim on the basis that the settlement agreement constituted an independent and legally enforceable contract.

We explained in the complaint that the criminal investigation and the civil payment obligation were separate matters. The absence of sufficient evidence to prove criminal fraud did not extinguish the instructor’s contractual obligation to pay the remaining settlement amount.

We also calculated the claim to include both the unpaid principal and the agreed late-payment interest specified in the settlement agreement.

In response to the instructor’s explanation for delaying payment, we emphasized that no request for correction, supplementation, or further performance had been made between the delivery of the lecture materials and the agreed payment deadline. This supported the position that there was no justifiable basis for withholding the final installment.