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How do I make sure the Owner is responsible for legal fees if they take me to court?

We are having an issue with a micromanaging Owner who is not wanting to pay us for a completed job. I am needing to put in an authorized change order to end any future work with them but they refuse to sign it. They are video recording me, measuring, calling the police, and counting up materials saying we owe them money for materials. We are a fixed rate contract and they agreed to pay the fixed amount but are saying we didn't buy the materials"in good faith" even though we did. They are trying to nickel and dime us for everything and our current contract States if they breach the contract then the owner is liable for any of our legal obligations so now they are trying to have me breach the contract so they can sue us Without them bei g held liable for our legal obligations. How can we go about this so they are held liable?

1 reply

Nov 2, 2019

Sounds like you're in a tight spot with the property owner. Before giving you a few general tips, this sounds like a situation where you could benefit substantially from the help of legal counsel. You'll want to choose an attorney that has a focus on construction law and specific experience in helping contractors like you. We have a list of construction attorneys in Missouri here. One recommendation for you is Dan Gabris (construction lawyer based in St Louis, MO), who appears to have experience in cases like these.

Carefully Comply with Nuanced Contract Provisions

You have a lot of information in your question about how the parties are behaving, but something very important to consider is all the provisions in your construction contract. If you have a written contract with the property owner -- and it sounds like you do -- then y0u'll want to consult it carefully. Construction contracts typically have "notice claim" provisions and other elements about how to submit change orders, which will be very important (see Notices required by construction contracts). You may later find yourself in arguments about whether you fully complied with all the detailed requirements of the contract -- and the work may not even matter!! So, pay close attention to your contract right now as you're trying to get this job completed. And, to help, again, a construction lawyer may be a good resource.

Recovery Options -- Liens, Attorney Fees, Etc.

Your question specifically asked about attorney fees, so I want to touch on that. The general rule -- commonly referred to as the American Rule -- is that everyone is stuck with their own attorney fees and legal costs. So, unless something else applies, this general rule will apply and there is no way to recover attorney fees from the owner (or the owner, from you). You may qualify for some exceptions here. Such as: 1) Is it in your contract? If the contract provides that the losing party will recover attorney fees, then, after the case is over, and after you have won, you can ask the court to award you reimbursement of your legal fees; or 2) Sometimes, you can qualify for attorney fees if you make certain claims, such as a mechanics lien claim. As explained in our article about how liens work, a mechanics lien filing may entitle you to recover attorney fees even when you don't otherwise have the right. This is a benefit sometimes of filing a mechanics lien. See more on how attorney fees are handled in a Missouri mechanics lien. Good luck!

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