Legal Question in Construction Law in New Hampshire
Mechanic's Lien vs Abandonement
My contractor, with whom I had a long time business relationship, verbally agreed to rennovate our home. However, he took on a second major job simultaneously and about half way through our job, began to show up itermittently, leaving the work to a fairly incompetent carpenter and his druggie son. As the work progress slowed and the work itself became increasingly unacceptable, the contractor became less and less available, on several occasions going to Florida for personal reasons. When he announced his last trip (he'd been to our house 5 times in 3 months), we verbally agreed I would find someone else to finish the punch list with the remaining budget. I did this and it cost me much more than he and I verbally agreed was remaining for the job (around $7000). He's back from Florida and wants to ''settle up''. I think he expects more money (he regularly could not remmember how much he was paid or owed) and am worried that I may see a ''mechanic's lien'' filed. There was, of course, no written contract since we had a many year history of his working with our interior design business. Seems to me that I have the opportunity to claim that he abandoned the project. Is that reasonable?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Mechanic's Lien vs Abandonement
This type of case is extremely difficult for all concerned. The contractor may be entitled to request a lien. You are entitled to a hearing where he has to offer proof that the work was done and that money is owed. The judge has the final decision and it's based on multiple legal factors.
If the two of you can not come to an agreement, it may be worthwhile for you jointly to hire an experienced business attorney to serve as a mediator to help you craft a solution before it gets to the litigation stage.
As you would expect, this is a somewhat general answer. More details would likely lead to a more focused response. It would be a good idea for you to meet with an attorney to fully explore your legal options.
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