Legal Question in Construction Law in New York

How binding is a construction contract?

We had a company in to show us their product,liked the product,but told the salesman we were looking into others. We did sign a contract that day but w/ the understanding we could look elsewhere.We were told had 30 days to look into other companies.We chose not to go with them(as they are most $,& cancelled (not w/in the 3 days as per the contract)but under the impression that we had 30 days to do so.We planned on financing the project(c.$10,000)but are having a trouble getting the finances.We feel we were told we could get out of it & they are telling us we have a legal contract & that they have to do the work. We do not have the funds & cannot get enough to do the job & we prefer to go with someone cheaper. They were our 1st estimate & we felt pressured to sign that day but again, with them knowing we were looking around.We are being told that the 30 days was for us to look elsewhere & if we found same product at lower price they would refund the difference.That is not how salesman represented the deal. We want to know if we are stuck in the contract to have them do the work or if there is a way out of it without being penolized.The owner feels that since they started the financing they should do some of the work.No money!!


Asked on 2/21/06, 5:55 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Kevin Connolly Kevin J. Connolly

Re: How binding is a construction contract?

You have a headache. You also have what is a common problem in consumer law: the high-pressure salesman who lies. Mark is right: you need to spend some time with an attorney to review the contract, get an evaluation of the facts, and develop a strategy. I strongly suggest you not sit on this, but become pro-active. There usually are effective strategies, but ignoring this and hoping it will go away is not one of them.

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Answered on 2/23/06, 11:47 am
Mark S. Moroknek Kelly & Curtis, PLLC.

Re: very binding

The whole point of a written contract is to have the complete agreement reduced to writing so there are no disagreements over who is obligated to do what.

If you signed a contract when you were not really sure you wanted to agree, you need to sit down with an attorney and go over that contract,

and you have no one to blame but yourself.

For instance, when you sign a contract to sell a house, and try to renege, the buyer can force you to sell it to him for the contract price by bringing an action for specific performance of the contract.

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Answered on 2/22/06, 12:45 am


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