Legal Question in Construction Law in New York

Electrical Contractor

We hired a Electrician to do the electrical portion of our new residential home construction, I was verbally told by him, that he is giving a flat rate estimate of $54,000 for the job, and that it's including allowances for fixtures, e.g. chandelier for $2000.00 etc, which was not written inside the contract, later on, he of course lied about it and never provided such. now after most of the work has been completed, he gives me an invoice for extras of work he claimed to have done, there was no contract on the extras and most of it is not true, however, we also just found out that instead of new he placed used circuit breakers in our electrical panels, he also installed outside lighting which stopped working only a few days after his installation, he also ran the wrong wiring for our cook top in the kitchen, which he refused to do anything about, it was a total loss for us since the appliance was already purchased before the walls where even closed, and he saw all the appliances and assured us that they will be working fine, we have many more such complaints.

my question is, he is sending threatening letters to sue us for the extras, does he not have to provide a contract on them?? what's the best route we take to win this???


Asked on 4/23/06, 12:16 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Mark S. Moroknek Kelly & Curtis, PLLC.

Re: Electrical Contractor

It would be great if there were an easy answer to the question, but as always it depends. Since it sounds as if a major amount of electrical work is inadequate, if not useless, you really should sit down with an attorney and all your written documents; keep track of all the verbal

mis-representations.

You have the option of waiting for him to sue you and counterclaiming, or you can commence an action against him for breach of contract. It depends on your situation. Most attorneys will require a retainer to take on this type of case.

If you like we can arrange an appointment for you.

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Answered on 4/24/06, 9:24 am


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