I am a general contractor in WA state, and I have a couple of situations with which I need guidance. #1. This I have asked about previously and has not been answered yet- I have a job, that at 95% completion the homeowners fired me and refused to pay ANY of the remaining quote (which had gone up since original bid due to change orders requested by them). Now, there were some unforeseen delays with this job; some material related , weather related, some due to the customer themselves, the deadline was not going to be met but we were in communication. The deposit I collected at contract initiation was 50%, that is all I have been paid, so at 95% complete along with added work by homeowner, certainly I am due more money. Here is where I made a big mistake, I ignorantly did not provide the customer with the proper paperwork to secure my lien rights prior to commencing work. So, I have no rights to lien, but I can still take legal action to try to collect what I am owed, or am I wrong? Also what kind of penalty am I looking at for the failure to provide the proper paperwork? #2 I collected a deposit from homeowner ($2,000) and began work at their property. It was agreed that goal for job completion was 10 days (which happened to fall on a Sunday I hadn't realized). Began work following day - Within a couple days the client agreed to order gravel as it was taking more time than expected for me to get it in myself (very small outfit I have) the delivery still put us out 1 day, I also did not go to the property that day, as there was little I could do. One day of me not personally making an appearance at their job( I was in contact via text messages) they responded by showing up to my home -- it is very clear that I do not have a brick and mortar and I do not conduct business from my home -- asking my wife where I was. I was still going to continue and see the contract through but I could not make them happy, and they fired me with days remaining before the completion date I was told not to return to the property. They want their money back, I have over 40 man hours up there on the project, plus material bought. Now, I may not be entitled any more money on this one, but a refund? I didn't agree to volunteer my time. Should I seek anything on this one, or at the least what is my plan of recourse if they pursue something against me? Please, please answer. TYIA
Hi there,
1. Why do you believe you are not entitled to file a lien against the homeowner? You do not neccessarily need a contract to file a lien. However, you do need to file the lien within 90 days from stopping the work on site. I recommend that you gather all relevant evidence regarding the work you performed (time log, material purchase receipts etc.) so you can prove your work. It sounds like the customer may claim that that the work was not completed ontime, in which case you will have to show by evidence why the work was delayed. If the work was delayed due to your own fault then you will be liable for the delay, but if it was caused by weather and other 3rd parties (unrelated to you) then you need to also make sure you can show that by evidence/records.
2. Do you have a contract for the work you performed? (you should always). Regardless, again you need to prepare records/evidence to show the work you've already performed. If you have provided reasonable work (not defective work) and can also show that 1 day delay was caused by the delivery only - then you should be entitled to the payment.
You may not have lien rights, but you can sue your customer for breach of contract. If you’re 95% done and were paid for only 50% of the work, then you would definitely win the lawsuit, assuming there are no offsets for construction defects. I recommend a demand letter be sent before starting a lawsuit.