Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>We signed a contract for windows. Next day I verbally and text cancelled. Contract states I had to give 3 day written notice to cancel. This window company keeps harrassing us into trying to continue with contract. Which after thought we cannot afford right now. Window company saying there going to file a mechanics lien against us. Can they do that? Even though no services were exchanged?
We signed a contract for windows. Next day I verbally and text cancelled. Contract states I had to give 3 day written notice to cancel. This window company keeps harrassing us into trying to continue with contract. Which after thought we cannot afford right now. Window company saying there going to file a mechanics lien against us. Can they do that? Even though no services were exchanged?
Signed a window contract. Next day canceled. Window company threating us with sueing. No services have been exchanged. We can't afford 30,000$ windows. Pushed into signing. Can they sue us for not going though with contract?
1 reply
Sep 18, 2019
Mechanics lien rights are generally only available when the project property is actually improved by the work of the mechanics lien claimant. So, when a contractor hasn't actually performed any work, they typically won't be entitled to lien rights. While there are some exceptions for specially fabricated materials ordered but not delivered, lien rights would preserve the right to payment for materials that are actually fabricated - and where a contract is canceled the day after it was executed, it's extremely unlikely that any lienable costs have been incurred.
What's more, if a contract included a 3-day right to cancel, and if the contractor is in receipt of the cancellation and fully aware of it, presumably the contract should be fully cancelled. Further yet, if this agreement was subject to the Florida 3-day Cooling-Off Rule, the right to cancel the contract might even be statutoy - not just subject to the contract at hand.
Ultimately: If a contract features the right to cancel within a certain time period and it's actually canceled during that time, then there should be no liability for the party who canceled the agreement. In a situation where the contract was canceled in a way that's not in line with the contract - there may be more of an argument that the agreement wasn't properly canceled. But, if the cancelation was actually received, and/or if the right to cancel the contract exists in Florida law (beyond simply the contract), then an agreement should typically be cancelable regardless.