Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>we got fired mid job for no cause on quality, our deadline was not met as owners made multiple changes and had multiple other trades in our way- now they want money back but we didnt quit, again no quality in workmanship complaint, there was a ton of time dedicated to job to line up, price out materials to meet budget (we bid a price THEN they shopped for materials spending HALF project cost on tile! then they held us to original bid as money was recieved demo had already started)- even meeting other trades for them for the roof that needed to be repaird bc they said they only needed multiple bids for the HOA and were living out of town at the time-but here they hired other contractors we met under false pretenses. We missed lining up other work as we were not planning on getting. What are our rights to remainder of 2nd drawal? Or in general?
we got fired mid job for no cause on quality, our deadline was not met as owners made multiple changes and had multiple other trades in our way- now they want money back but we didnt quit, again no quality in workmanship complaint, there was a ton of time dedicated to job to line up, price out materials to meet budget (we bid a price THEN they shopped for materials spending HALF project cost on tile! then they held us to original bid as money was recieved demo had already started)- even meeting other trades for them for the roof that needed to be repaird bc they said they only needed multiple bids for the HOA and were living out of town at the time-but here they hired other contractors we met under false pretenses. We missed lining up other work as we were not planning on getting. What are our rights to remainder of 2nd drawal? Or in general?
mostly in question- also though they never signed large contract with me the owner - only a scope of work with my husband who is not listed anywhere as owner or partner.
1 reply
Jul 5, 2018
I'm sorry to hear about that, it sounds like an incredibly frustrating situation. Deciding on how to proceed will depend on a number of factors, the most important being the ultimate goal of any action taken. If payment is owed and unpaid, threatening (or eventually filing) a mechanics lien might be a good option for moving forward. Compared to litigation, it's a cheaper, quicker, and easier method of recovery - but there are strict requirements that must be followed (more on those here). Ultimately, though, sending a document like a Notice of Intent to Lien can force payment without actually having to file a lien claim. In fact, Pennsylvania is one of the few states where a Notice of Intent to Lien is actually required prior to a lien filing (and must be made at least 30 days prior to a lien filing). But if some claim for payment is ultimately necessary, note that a claim (particularly, a mechanics lien) should likely not exceed what is actually owed. Lost profits might be recoverable via lawsuit (and even then - they can be tough to prove), but with a lien claim, those amounts cannot be included. Anyway, if the ultimate goal is to fend off a threatening property owner, unless some action is taken, there might not be much to do other than to calmly explain why payments are not being refunded. If legal action is taken by the owner, it would be wise to consult a local construction attorney to advise moving forward.