AboutPeter M. Elliott Expertise First response to queries regarding extensions of time, variations orders, site instructions and payment using FIDIC and other forms of Conditions of Contract, based on English Law, and derivatives only.
Experience Value . . .
It's unwise to pay too much, but it's unwise to pay too little. When you pay too much you lose a little money, that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing you bought it to do.
The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. It can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it's well to add something for the risk you run.
And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.
. . . John Ruskin (1819 - 1900)
"We are too poor to buy something cheap"
.Romanian Proverb 2002
A lean compromise is better than a fat lawsuit.
George Herbert (English poet 1593-1633)
I said it in Hebrew, I said it in Dutch,
I said it in German and Greek:
But I wholly forgot (and it vexes me much)
That English is what you speak!" Hunting of the Snark - Lewis Caroll
Match your presentation to the reader!
The joy of food lasts but an hour, of sleep but a day, of a woman, but a month, but the joy of a building lasts a lifetime. Syrian proverb.
Comments and observations leading to improvements in the translation of FIDIC Red & Yellow books into Romanian prior to approval by FIDIC (reference 'Preface to the Romanian edition')
Question Peter,
Let me start off by saying this uncle is a very bad person. I have since found out that he has spent hard time in a Kentucky prison.
I have offered Uncle "A" a lump sum of $2300, which was eqaul to the lowest drywall bid I recieved (I hung most of the drywall myself). He refused the payment. I could add a few hundred for the doors we hung. Many of the doors need to be removed and re-installed. But in no way is the work he completed worth $10,000. I guess it comes down to did we have a legal binding contract. I never agreed to any terms with him, written or verbal. My wife was present when i told him we were not interested in him performing the work. All of the family has given him hell for sueing me. I had over 15 family members pitching in to help us finish this house. I assumed he was one of them, lending a helping hand. Live and learn. I don't see any way around not retaining a lawyer. Can I back charge him for all the time i spent with him working, all the meals i fed him, the times he slept ay my house? If this goes to court the boxing gloves are off.
Thanks for your advice. This is a wonderful web page.
Jim
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Followup To
Question -
Three years ago I bought a house and started rehabbing it myself.I was hiring the subs and performing most of the work myself to save money.When it came time to hire a framer, my mother suggested I call my uncle "A".I called and he agreed to do the framing for under $3,000(verbal contract).He charged me an hourly rate and i paid it on time.Uncle "B" (who charged me nothing)and myself helped Uncle "A" perform all the work.When the addition was under roof Uncle "A" presented to me a written propsal to completely finish the remaining work for $10,000.He stated I could walk away and not have to do anything but move in when it was finished.I thanked him and told him I had already paid other subs and that i did not have the funds to hire him. So I did not sign or agree to this proposal. Later that year I ran out of money and time.Uncle "A" offered to help.Money was never mentioned.Uncle "B" and myself again helped Uncle "A".We completed the drywall, but did not hang doors,trim or cabinets.The house is still unfinished.Uncle "A" is now threatening to sue me for the $10,000 in his original proposal.Saying we had a verbal contract. He never once told me he was charging me.Can he do this? What should I do?
Answer -
Hi Jim,
I presume that you live in the USA and so of course he can sue you. Will he win? That is another question? Will he cause you aggravation? That is for sure. Do you need the aggravation? Do you need this uncle? Only you can decide. Since your mother suggested him, maybe you can get her to knock some sense into him.
It would seem that the work is incomplete and so he has not earned the full US$10K in his original offer, but he has done some work so he might be due some payment. Since he submitted a written proposal, it could be assumed that he would have confirmed your verbal acceptance in writing and got your confirmation of receipt of his confirmation. You paid him for the initial input, so he could have assumed, rightly or wrongly, that you would pay him on an hourly basis for the continuation. On a bad day a judge might decide that he should be paid for his work to date. However if he goes for the whole amount then the judge might agree that the original offer was on the basis that you did no more work, so you, and Uncle B could charge him for your input, which would balance out anything due to him.
Alternative Strategies
a) pay him for his time on a similar basis to the first input and never use him again;
b) ask him to finish the work for the original price, deducting payments for the inputs by you and your uncle, but not paying him until the work is finished and snagged and you have a warranty and clearance from the building inspectors and you have a release from him stating that all suppliers and subcontractors have been paid and you can move in;
c) tell him to prove the existence of valid contract in a court of law and watch the rest of the family take sides.
Try to stay away from lawyers, as the intention is to finish a house, not spend your life with lawyers, but if you do go to court, go for the jugular. I hope that you get your home finished and enjoy it in peace.
Answer Hi Jim,
From what you have told me, you do not have a contract, verbal or otherwise, with him to provide services because there has been no acceptance of the offer, and you have a witness that the offer was refused. Show him the five reauirements for a contract on my intro page. If it goes to court, then it will be a matter of credibility. If you have a clean record and your uncle does not then the odds are in your favour.
Tried to persuade him that $2,300 in hand is better than nothing after a lot of expense in court. and yes you could back charge him for all reasonable expenses.
I would not get a lawyer until he actually issued a summons and then I would make sure that the lawyer is on a fixed fee contract.
