Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Michigan

Being sued for wood floor being done during construction phase

We built a new house. Prefinished wood floor was installed. Wood floor was damaged/defective during the construction phase. Distributor/manufactureer stated the wood floor was not defective; wood floor was damaged by contractors. My wife and I wanted the wood floor redone before we moved into our new home. The original wood floor guy sanded, stained and refinished the floor. Carpet and painters had to do some extra work as well for the damaged floor. My wife and I refuse to pay for the floor being redone because the house was not in our possession at the time nor did we damage the wood floor. We wanted and needed the wood floor redone before we moved in and before there was a decision of who was going to pay for it because my wife is pregnant and we could not be in a house in which there was going to be stain fumes etc. We also pushed off our closing date twice and risked already the possibility of our locked in interest rate to go up. So now we are being sued by an attorney who is representing the wood floor guy. What should we do? They are demanding payment or need a letter stating why we will not pay for this service. They say they can put a lein on our house as well even though we already closed. Help!


Asked on 5/06/05, 7:08 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Rochelle Guznack Law Offices of Rochelle E. Guznack, PLLC

Re: Being sued for wood floor being done during construction phase

You need to read your contract. In general, it is my opinion that if you asked the wood floor subcontractor to resand and refinish the floors, then it is your responsibility to pay him whether you had possession or not. On the other hand, if the floor was damaged during construction, you should look to your general contractor or builder to assume the cost.

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Answered on 5/06/05, 12:11 pm


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