Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
I am a licensed California contractor....recently I did approximately 5 weeks' work (painting, electrical, carpentry) for the owner of a motorcycle parts company. I put in hundreds of hours and thousands of $$ in materials. The agreement was that the shop owner would pay me in the form of high-end racing motorcycle parts for my motorcycle. After completion of the work the shop owner informed me that he will not pay me as agreed, either in parts of money. What are my recourses?? There was no written agreement, just oral. Can I still file a mechanic's lien and/or take him to court??
2 Answers from Attorneys
What is his excuse for not paying you? Looks like you are headed to court. ...get with an attorney so you do this right.
An oral contract is sufficient for a mechanic's lien in California. You will need to prove the terms of the contract, however.
Courts also will enforce oral contracts, assuming the terms can be proven. You may also be able to recover the reasonable value of the services that you provided, even if you cannot prove all the terms of your contract (e.g., that payment was to be in the form of the motorcycle parts). In this case, you need to prove is that you provided services, and your services were not intended as a gift.