I’m a general contractor and my company was hired to do a refurbish on a historic home to fix structural issues and replace the porch that was rotting and unsafe. My main GC and master Carpenter and designer did the site visit and estimate which the client approved and hired us. As the jobs go, there were issues that were discovered during demo. The client was notified whenever new issues were found and discussed fix options, verbally agreed to recommended fix actions and our crew completed necessary work to fix issues. These issues had to be fixed in order for the original agreed upon work could continue. My GC said he had more than one conversation with client about the additional fix work would add more days and expenses. The client’s response was that of which my GC thought she understood and we were to complete the extra work so we could get back to our project. So I billed her for the additional work days and she doesn’t want to pay the amount over the original estimate. She even wrote a check for the amount she had left to pay on original estimate and made t clear that was the last payment she was making and told the GC to leave the worksite and not to do any more work. So they left and the project wasn’t completed. Now I don’t know if I can demand payment for the costs above the estimate due to the work they had to do to fix issues in able to continue work on porch and structurally. Can you please help me ASAP. I have asked before and never got a response and now deadlines to pursue payment via mechanics lien are coming and going and I’m afraid to pursue the mechanics lien if I legally can’t charge the client
There's a lot of facts here, and I would need clarification on several items before I could give any useful advice. I know that's not a particularly useful answer, but I can tell you that you are at the point where you need to reach out to an attorney to determine your legal options. A little legal guidance at this point is going to go a long way for your company. For instance, there may be options in addition to a lien.
I can also tell you that filing a lien on a potential homestead property can be a dangerous gamble.
Feel free to reach me directly if you would like.
Very best,
Ben
281-762-1377
ben@houseperron.com
Hello,
Work completed should be paid for. If it is not paid for, this is the basis for a lien and a lawsuit, especially if the client accepted the work.
Here, there's an issue because the work was not completed. I am missing some facts so I will give you a hypo with my own facts.
Let's say a job is supposed to cost $10,000. Some issues are discovered that increase the price to $13,000. However, the contractor only completes $8,000 worth of work before they are terminated for whatever reason and the project remains incomplete. The contractor is only allowed to lien for any part of the $8,000 worth of work that remains unpaid. So let's say they completed $8K but only been paid $6K. The customer owes $2K and the lien is only for $2K even though the full project cost is $13K.
In short, we need to know how much of the work you actually completed that you have not been paid for. That is what you can lien for. The rest of the project is a wash.
E. Aaron Cartwright III
214.789.1354
Aaron@EACLawyer.com
You might have some rights to collect all or part of the excess from her under theories of an oral contract, quantum meruit, and unjust enrichment. I would have to talk to you more about it. My hourly rate is $350 and I need a $2500 retainer which is fully refunded when the final bill is paid. Let me know if you want to discuss this further.