I had signed a contract with my uncle pertaining to a campsite restroom my company was hired to build. we were responsible for all phases of the structure. after grading, forming and pouring the structures footings and concrete slab, i realized i under bid this job by alot of money. I am a newer contractor and had a few older contracting buddies come and give me advice on what i should do moving forward with the project. all of the contractors who had came and looked at the job advised me that i should writte a new proposal asking for more money to work with, as the footings and slammed eat up most of the down payment. one contractor even told my uncle that i had slit my own throat on this job and to work with me as i am family, well he did not listen and when i asked him for a bigger deposit he refused and fired my company (which he had hired a bigger contractor who charged him double my price. when he asked for money back i told him that i would be happy to finish the project but he would not be getting 30,000 back as i only had 20,000 in a deposit. since, he has hired a lawyer to try and get money that is not there. the lawyer advised me today they will settle for 25k i do not want to pay him anything as him and i both know i underbid that project. he told my aunt that this is a learning curve for me that is why he is suing me! Really? grow up right, anyways they had sent A FINAL LETTTER just now advising me this is the last opportunity to pay the 25k or they will move forward with suing me. can you give me advice or lead me in the right direction?
A couple of questions:
Is your company a sole proprietorship? If not and a lawsuit is filed, you will have to hire an attorney to represent you and file your answer and any other documents you might be required to file with the court. Depending on the attorney, the retainerm could be $5,000 or more.
Does the contract you signed contain an arbitration clause? If it does, you can force your uncle to arbitrate the case rather than filing a lawsuit. If not, you might ask him if he would be willing to arbitrate the case. Neither party has to be represented by an attorney in an arbitration.). Construction Disputes Resolution Services (CDRS) is a professional dispute resolution firm that specializes in both residential and commercial construction disputes
and is available to conduct mediations and/or arbitrations anywhere in the United States .
To learn more, visit https://youtu.be/ngERgJF9j70