Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia
contractor is taking me to court but he has no contract
i hired a contractor in 3/00 to remodel a basement, he told me the job would take 3 weeks, october came (7 months later) and he still wasn't finished. he never worked a full week on the job the whole time he was there. i hired someone else to come in and finish it one weekend in october. during this time i constantly called him and told him i wanted this to be finished, none of those calls seemed to do any good. now he is taking me to court for his labor and supplies that come to about $5,000, about $2,000 was already paid to him, and another $2,000 was given to the other contractor i had to hire to finish the job, and also who fixed many mistakes the former contractor had made. (this contractor also stated he would write up the things he had to do and fix that weekend for me to take to court) anyway, there was no contract made at all, just a verbal agreement for him to do the job in 3 weeks and how much it would cost.. am i obligated to pay him due to he never finished the job within 3 weeks, and never finished the job period. i had to hire someone else to do it??
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: contractor is taking me to court but he has no contract
First, an oral agreement to do a job for an agreed amount of money is a contract, and is just as enforceable as a written one.
If you have a contract for $5000 and paid him $2000 up front, and it cost $2000 for someone else to finish, you owe the first contractor $1000. But this may be subject to further reduction for the delay and other costs.
Note that your replacement contractor cannot submit his testimony by letter; he must appear in court in person. You may want to retain a lawyer to assist you in this defense.
Re: contractor is taking me to court but he has no contract
In addition to what Mr. Press has stated, I'd point out that (1) the contractor may not have the necessary licenses, and thus may not have standing to bring suit on a contract which he could not lawfully have made; (2) if the contract was entered into somewhere other than the contractor's usual place of business (e.g., by 'phone, or at your house) then the contract must be in writing and must contain a three-day cancellation clause under the Home Solicitation Sales Act; and (3) false promises and misleading and deceptive conduct are violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.
I agree with Mr. Press in his analysis of the contract damages; however you may have defenses that could result not only in your not having to pay the contractor, but in getting a judgment awarded to you instead (the Virginia Consumer Protection Act contains a provision for reimbursement of legal fees as well as statutory damages of at least $500.00).
Please feel free to contact me directly; I'd like to ask you some more detailed questions. 540-347-2430.
By the way, make sure you're there on the date set for the first court hearing. Ask for a "bill of particulars". Try to either get the hearing date postponed or to set the trial date far enough out so that you can get an attorney.
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