Oral Contract Broke, can i do anything?

Question

We have a masonry company, and had an oral contract to brick a house and now the person has got another contractor. We did the foundation already and was ready to brick the house and when we took our equipment to the job site they tell us they got someone else. Is there anything we can do when someone breaks an oral contract?

Answer 1

Hi!

Yes, you can do a few things.

First, an oral contract, so long as it isn't in violation of a legal doctrine called the "statute of frauds", is as binding as a written one. The other individuals who have told you otherwise are incorrect.

The trick, of course, is to prove the terms of the deal. A written contract is usually the item used to prove/enforce an agreement, and as you are discovering (and will hopefully never forget to use again), they are the best way to prove the deal as well. But there is another legal doctrine that can come in handy, called the "parol evidence rule", which allows you to use other non-contract pieces of proof to show to the court that you had an agreement and that you were living up to your end of the bargain.

It sounds like you might already have some of that proof. Any kind of receipts, payroll stubs or other proof of laying the foundation is the first step to showing that you were hired to do the work. If you received payment, that, too, can be used as proof (yes, sometimes even in cash - so long as it was fully and immediately deposited into a bank account).

Next, it also sounds like this job may have been big enough that you had employees working for you to do the work. Their direct testimony of the work that they did is also good. They can also testify to anything that they directly may have overheard while you talked with the person hiring your company. What they can't do (because it's hearsay), is testify to what you told them was agreed upon AFTER the conversation already happened.

Finally, if you have any proof of expenses for materials purchased in preparation of the second phase of the job, keep those as well, as you may be able to recover your costs. The fact that you purchased those items can be used to show the intent of the job, as you normally wouldn't have purchased them if you didn't have a use for them.

So, now that you know this, go find a civil attorney. Ask them to help you file a claim for Breach of Contract. Sue the breaching person/company. Oh, and please use written contracts in the future to protect yourself against this from happening again! :)

Good luck!

Answer 2

If you were paid for pouring the foundation, you'd maybe have a shot, as that shows some sort of agreement between you and the homeowner. Or if there was any down-payment, or designs or plans submitted to the homeowner. Without any of that, it's going to be hard to prove. Technically, an oral contract is as binding as a written one, but proving it is a whole different story. See if you can come up with any supporting evidence or documents and ask an attorney to do a case review for you, to see if you have a chance in court.

Don't take this the wrong way, but really any project of this size and cost should be agreed upon in writing before work begins. This protects the homeowner AND protects the contractor. So I hope, going forward, you never, ever agree to taking a job with just an oral contract.

Answer 3

You can file a material and mechanic's lien on the property. This will not guarentee any money, unless and until the property is placed for resale. You can, if enough momey is involved, perfect the lien which requires forclosure proceedings. May cost more than the lien. This certainly will muddy the deed. A morgtage holder frowns on this. Makes for an unhappy homeowner.
You can try small claims court, but without a written contract, slim to none.

Answer 4

No that is why people write contracts, so you can't just get out of them. Unfortunately for you this will be a hard lesson to learn. Just make sure next time you get word order, stating all the terms, signed both by you and the client. That way they will not be able to ditch you and even if they do you can sue them.

Answer 5

the math does not upload up. Paying one hundred per 30 days for a entire of 1755 could propose 18 months or much less. the entire volume replace into in user-friendly terms 3000. How ought to the pastime be 2500 in under 18 months. that must be 70--80% pastime. feels like his step-mom is attempting to get him to pay each and all of the pastime on her credit card besides to what replace into extra with the aid of unique 3000 for bail. Is he nonetheless loose on bail? If the case replace into settled, somebody could are turning out to be a great sort of the 3000 back. the place is that money? be particular she did no longer get the money back and you're paying it to her too.

Answer 6

unless you have a Non-Employee that can verify and will testify in court you can't do anything and even with a witness an oral contract is very hard to be upheld in a court of law :-( good luck

Answer 7

Learn to be smart enough next time to get a written contract. And you own a business?

Answer 8

No because there wasnt anything in writing