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can I file lien for full contract amount that was stopped half way through and given to someone else

We placed an interior floor that is contracted to us to color and seal. The Building contractors knew that it was a finished floor and they were to take up care of it. Unfortunately they chose not to. There was some damage done to the floor therefore we were not going to be able to just color it, it was now going to require an overlayment. Obviously an overlay ment is extra cost outside of what we had contracted and estimated. The homeowner chose to bring in a 3rd unknown party To complete the color on our floor. Our contract is still open with this clients and our floor has been finished by someone else. My question is when a homeowner puts out request for bid or estimate on contracted work is that a breach of contract? If we are expecting as the contractor a certain amount of revenue and suddenly it is yanked out from underneath our feet or taken away from us. Is there anything in place to protect us, the contractor?

1 reply

Nov 20, 2018

That's a tough situation - I'm sorry to hear about that. First, it's worth noting that even where a contract is later terminated, a party who has performed work on a project will likely be entitled to payment for all work performed prior to that termination. However, future payments for work not yet performed would be harder to obtain. It's hard to know whether or not a contract has been breached without reviewing the actual agreement. Depending on the terms of the agreement, it's possible that termination of the contract due to the actions of a third party could be a breach of the contract. Alternatively, it's also possible that a contractor is required to perform their contract, as agreed to before work began, regardless of whether some third party affected their work. Ultimately, when a contract is terminated by one party prior to the completion of the agreement, there are a number of different ways the dispute can go - so consulting a local attorney could provide a lot of insight into potential remedies.

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