Hello, my father is a contractor who agreed to remodel many aspects of his close friend's daughter's house. There is no written contract, but there are text messages explaining that it would be a "time and materials" contract. The homeowner paid for a couple months of the remodeling which they called phase 1, but did not pay for the completion /phase 2 because she said the price was more than she expected. From your website, I see that Colorado requires a written contract for costs over $500. My father says she owes him around $17,000 for his work and the materials. My question is what can my father do to get paid? Could the text messages count as the underlying contract? Or could the contract be implied because he has basically already completed the work? From googling, I found a term called unjust enrichment. Is that an option? Could we sue based on the value he added to her residence? Thank you for any and all thoughts you may have.
I am sorry for the issues. As a legal matter, the text communication could constitute a written contract. However, even if there was no written contract he has various claims including unjust enrichment. Unjust enrichment would not be based on the alleged increase in value of the home. It would be based on the market value of the services and the cost of the materials.
He can file and should file a lien. That is the first step. However, if this is a single family residence, the lien filing may not yield a dime. A lien is fantastic to get paid if this is a commercial project under a loan. It is also fantastic if the home will be sold in maybe about a year. In those circumstances, the lien will almost always be paid out or a bond will be posted related to the lien amount. If this is just a residence and the owner has no plans to sell, they will likely ignore the lien. In a bit over a year, the lien is no longer effective. Moreover, to foreclose on a lien is extremely complex and requires an attorney and is quite expensive. Lien foreclosure suits makes sense when the amount at issue in the mid-five figures and up.
So, as I noted, he should file a lien. Next, he should hire an attorney. The first thing that attorney will do is make sure your father never does any work without a clear written contract that has an attorney fee clause and other provisions to protect his business. Next they may threaten the owner with a suit and that could lead to settlement. There is no guarantee but this is far better than anything your father can do since he has almost no leverage and his demands lack a credible threat.
I hope he reaches out to an attorney on Monday. Most of us offer free initial consultations.
Hello. My pleasure.
Whether texts constitute a contract depends on the terms of the texts. It is impossible to know if they can constitute a contract without reviewing them.
Only certain contracts must be in writing and a construction contract is not one of them so, yes, it could be an oral contract.
The law also does not require a written contract to file a lien which is why I noted he can file a lien.
So, as I noted, he can and should file and lien and hire a construction attorney. Have a good evening too and I hope he gets an attorney as mistakes like this cost multiples of what it costs for an attorney to help avoid these kinds of mistakes.