Legal Question in Construction Law in Pennsylvania

fired due to unforseen issues

Our client gave us a deposit at the end of March 2009. Due to bad weather we needed 4 or more days to start the roof removal. She agreed to ''replace'' and buy the few sheets of plywood if needed. She also claimed that her husband already replaced the plywood on one side. We started that side first and found no plywood under any of the roof shingles/cedar shake. Instead of ''replacing'', she needed all the plywood for us to finish the job and refused the additional work order to purchase and install the new plywood. Now, she fired us for not doing the job. The shingles she picked out are $2,500 for the whole roof and the plywood is around $800. The original work order was for $5,000 and the additional work order was $2000. There was two layers of roof and a container costing $450 was rented. We also have labor at approx. $100 per worker a day. She refuses to give any extra money and now the roof is open on 1/2 side with a tarp protecting the contents of her attic. Can she just cancel the job? There was no plywood to replace because there was no plywood.


Asked on 5/19/09, 9:11 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Re: fired due to unforseen issues

There are too many open questions here to properly answer you. Do you have a signed contract? Does it address delays, extra work, dispute resolution, did you advise of the need for additional work, should you have been able to determine if there was a need for sheathing (inspection from in the attic), were you authorized to proceed, do you have any witnesses or a writing on going forward, etc.? If not, you need a new contract, especially for residential work!!! If you want, you can call me between 5:00 & 6:00 PM today, and I will see if I can address your questions (can't include my tel. no., so you have to look me up). --- PS - I was a construction engineer for 15 yrs before law, and I concentrate in construction matters.

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Answered on 5/19/09, 1:32 pm


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