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Can a property owner still be held liable for the full amount of the job after they refuse to ket you do anymore work ?

IllinoisPayment Disputes

U was hired by an out of town owner to sealcoat a commercial parking lot. I emailed a detailed bid and he called me to discuss it further. He explained that he just wanted to dress it up . I told him what I could do and how much it would cost to go that route. He sent me a down payment and was happy I could get to him so soon. After I started on the job, he suddenly became an expert at seal coating, arguing with me about spraying it and working at night. I explained that that was the best time to work commercial jobs so not to disrupt the business and get dust and or overspray on vehicles. Things only got worse from there and he told me to stop what i was doing until further notice. Recently he had another company come in to finish the job that he told me he wasn't going to finish due to financial and my unwillingness to do it his way when I know what I was doing was right.

1 reply

Oct 30, 2018
I'm very sorry to hear that. First, it's unlikely that a property owner would become liable to a contractor for the full amount of a job when that contractor did not complete the contract - regardless of who is at fault for nonperformance. While a claimant could potentially file a lawsuit for the full amount of the contract, such a suit would be risky and expensive, plus even if successful, a claimant would likely not be entitled to the full price of the contract if only some portion of the contract were performed. If payment is owed and unpaid for work that was actually performed, a mechanics lien might be a viable option - but again, a lien would not entitle the contractor to the full amount of the contract when only partial performance has taken place. Rather, the amount that has been performed and unpaid would be subject to lien (so long as any other requirements were fulfilled).
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