The SPFL are staring at a compensation bill that could total £6million if clubs reject league reconstruction.
Hearts remain furious at being relegated without all 38 games being played and are prepared to mount a legal bid.
Partick Thistle and Stranraer, who make up the trio of sides downed before the season had finished, may also decide to take the SPFL to a civil court aiming at a seven-figure payout.
And the liability would fall on member clubs to cover the costs.
Record Sport revealed that enough Championship clubs are against the idea of reconstruction to sink the proposals, with clubs asked to indicate by Monday morning whether they support or oppose the premise of a 14-10-10-10 setup that would save the three sides from the drop and negate the need to take the matter to court.
With the news that the season in the second-tier could be shortened to 27 games as opposed to the usual 36, Hearts are bracing themselves for another big financial hit, potentially totalling £5million – according to the Edinburgh Evening News.
And further down, Thistle's future in League One and Stranraer's in League Two is even less certain, with no current start date for either division. They would suffer a combined loss of more than £1m.
But any prospective legal challenge from the clubs was given a firm boost from the Continent this week.
In France, the relegations of Amiens and Toulouse were deemed illegal as the Council of State recommended Ligue 1 be reformed into a 22-team league for next season.
And in neighbouring Belgium, Waasland-Beveren's relegation was also deemed to be a violation of competition law.
However the difference between Scotland and those two countries is that more than 80 per cent of SPFL member clubs voted to give the league board a mandate to end the season, while it was imposed on the clubs by the leagues in France and Belgium.
