Contractor Quit, do I have a case ?

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Contractor Quit, do I have a case ?

Building Contractor KDL Homes Inc. quit 2 months before my personal residence

was complete. I was left with a unfinished home. The contract was a set price.

Not only did i have to finish the home myself but the cost to finish was 6k

greater than the remaining amount due the contractor when he quit. How can I

best recover this 6k?

Lawyers don’t seem to want the case. If I go to small claims court will judge

likely say it’s not the contractors fault it cost 6k more to finish?

Can I add damages for having to work all day for 2 months to finish it?

Contract price 158

Contractor Paid 143

Contract Quit

Cost to finish 21k

Loss 6k

Asked on September 7, 2016 under Real Estate Law, Florida

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 7 years ago | Contributor

If they breached their contract (i.e. there was a contract for them to complete all the work), you can sue the contractor for the return of any money they received for work not done, and for the additional cost (over the contract price) to complete the work, if you can prove, such as by the testimony of other contractors, price quotes or proposals, etc. that the additional cost was reasonable. (That is, if pretty much any other contrator would have charges $X to complete, then a court would typically find that $X was a reasonable cost and award it.) You cannot, however, recover for your own time spent on the project: courts do not provide compensation for a person's own time or effort.


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