Legal Question in Business Law in Idaho

Small business won't pay up on web design contract

I agreed to design a web site for a small business and signed a contract with the owner on 18 Jan 2002. The contract states that I would receive an initial payment of $250 and an additional $250 on completion of the site. It then states ''If initial set up exceeds 20 hours, those hours @ $25/hour.'' The site was completed 21 March 2002. The owner is now offering to pay me less than a third of the total amount owed because the owner feels I used the hours I billed to correct my errors or in making mistakes because I was inept. The hours greatly exceeded the original 20 hour estimate (my total hours were 153.77); additional changes on the site were initiated by the owner. I kept the owner appraised of my growing number of hours. What recourse do I have?


Asked on 4/16/02, 11:59 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Gass Timothy Gass Law Office

Re: Small business won't pay up on web design contract

to be sure about what rights you have, I would have to read the contract since contracts generally cover such items as this. However, several general concepts may apply. 1) You can sue him in small claims court for the money you say he owes; 2) you can sue him in magistrate court as well but you would need an attorney to do this; 3) you can sue him under a theory called "quantum meruit" which basically means for the value of your services so long as the contract does not prohibit this.

I strongly advise that you have the contract reviewed by an attorney so that you rights can be correctly determined. You may have additional contractual rights as well.

My teleph Number is 208-345-3817 if you'd like me to handle this. Good Luck!

Read more
Answered on 4/17/02, 11:40 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Business Law questions and answers in Idaho