Legal question, What is your advice?

Question

I just had a tin roof put on my house and the company that put it on (Tin Man Roofing) left my yard covered with their trash (lots of metal screws, pieces of the roof, etc) and when the president of the company came by to pick up the check (at my house and the price was $14,000) I told him he needed to get it cleaned up, he said he would have a group of guys come out the next day, a week later still no one had come by I called him again he said he forgot my address so I told him again, I let my dog in the yard so she can take care of her business and when I went to let her in I found her chewing on a pice of the roof and I checked her mouth and she had broke one of her teeth, I called the president to let him know that he would have to pay for the vet bill to fix her tooth and he said that he would have it taken care of, the vet bill was over $1,000 and I got a letter from his lawyers saying that he would not pay because it was my fault for not cleaning my yard.

I want to know if I have a case and if I do how much should I charge him if I go to court.

Answer 1

First off...I would never have given the $14,000 check to the guy until EVERYTHING WAS CLEANED UP.

Second....has your check cleared yet? If not...stop payment until everything is completed.
Any repretable business man would want to "do the right thing and clean up his mess his men make." This is standard in building practices.
Call the police dept TODAY and file a report with your LOCAL POLICE for NEGLIGANCE ON THE PART OF YOUR BUILDER.
Do you also have a Homeowners Association for your neighborhood....if so, also report this company to them.
Also report this company to the Better Business Burea! This always attacks attention....even the attention of their LAWYER as the information you provide to the BBB cannot be taken down.
I would submit the vet bills again to your ATTORNEY and you will be getting paid!!!
You can file in Small Claims Court and handle this yourself. Small Claims is up to 15,000.00 in most States.
I WOULD CONTINUE TO WRITE LETTER TO THIS COMPANY WEEKLY TO HAVE THE YARD CLEANED UP....OR CLEAN IT YOURSELF & BE SURE TO BILL THE COMPANY FOR THE MESS THEY CAUSED!!!!!
Wife of an attorney in Florida.

Answer 2

You can sue, and ask for any amount you want. Your suit would be for breach of contract. This is what will probably happen:

1. The judge will ask you why, if the contractor had not finish all the work contracted for, did you nonetheless pay the contractor in full? Generally, if you paid, that means you were satisfied that all the agreed-upon work was performed. You'd better have a good explanation.

2. Will not recover for the vet bill. A dog injuring itself by chewing on a piece of metal is not a foreseeable result of a breach of contract (presuming there was even a breach to begin with).

Answer 3

stop payment on the cheque then send a new one minus the costs of your vet care - make sure u write on the new cheque that it is for the tin roof minus costs of vet bills due to company negligence and PAID IN FULL
if the cheque has already cleared, call the better business bureau and file a complaint also any business associations the company may be part of if they still wont settle (and if he has already had his lawyer involved he probably wont settle)you will have to sue so document everything - if there is still trash in the yard photograph it - photograph the dogs injuries, keep the piece of tin the dog chewed on lol - seriously and of course the bills ---Good luck

Answer 4

Use your head!!! You allowed your dog to roam in a knowingly dangerous area. Someone should sue you for allowing that dog to get harmed.

You don't pay contactors until the work has been completed. Since you noticed there was a problem, you should have told him you would have the final payment ready for him tomorrow after the clean-up has been completed. There was no reason to hand over a check.

Answer 5

First of all, if you stop payment on the check, your 'self-help' will indeed land you in jail over civil fines and breach not to mention fraud.

Secondly, Without a court order, you have no legal right to deduct anything from the contracted price of the work.

The ONLY solution you have at this time is to write the company a CIVIL DEMAND letter telling them (reminding them) of the promise to clean their mess from your yard and giving them 72 hours to effect the cleanup upon receipt of this letter. send it Certified (RRR) and then if they do not clean up the mess, sue them in civil court for the cost of the cleanup.

It is doubtful that you can recover 'damages' as you knew the condition of the yard yet ignored it to let your dog freely roam (regardless the reason) in spite of the perceived dangers.

It's called assummed liability.

Answer 6

Deduct the vet expenses and the cost to clean up the yard from the amount you owe the contractor. Then offer the net amount to settle the bill and all claims.

Answer 7

Yes, you need to take him to court, and sue him for the moneis for the vet bill, I use to roof in the Memphis are for J.D. roofing and exteriors, and if you contact them and speak with D. he will refer you to the person you need to contact.
I cannot remember the number, but if you contact D. just tell him that johnboy refer you and he will do everything that is possible to get in touch with someone about your problem

Answer 8

Small claims courts are set up for disputes such as yours. Hopefully, his contract included clean up, they often do. If its in the contract, you have lots of evidence in your favor. Do not let him get away with it. He forgot the address.....hah

Answer 9

You obviously paid before the job was done. You let go of your best leverage. Burned once shame on them. Burned twice shame on you.

Answer 10

you have no case. you made it quite clear that your yard was a mess and you let the dog out anyway. YOU LOSE