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Contractor has contract with no start date is the contract valid under NY contract law

Asked over 3 years ago - Ithaca, NY

I am a contractor in NY and have a contract with two homeowners, two different jobs, the contracts were signed in May and were not completed. or even started. The weather was a huge factor, I was also injured which put the start dates off. We scheduled new start dates and then found that both customers were sueing me in small claims court. I had every intention of completing the work,and had no control over what had happened. I still would like to complete the work. In the small claims cases do I have any legit defense.

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Attorney answers (2)

David Alexander Phipps

Reputation Level 11

Answered over 3 years ago. Contracts / Agreements Lawyer in City Of Industry, CA.

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If you have a defense it is in your contract, and even then it is probably not adequate. I haven't seen the contract terms, so all I can do is tell you that if you have a force majeure clause it probably would excuse the weather delay but would probably not cover the injury delay. Even though the inury was not within your control, it was still possible to do the work by hiring others to do it. If that was not possible because of your personal circumstances, that means the delay was caused by a combination of your injury and your limited financial resources. The injury was not within your control but the financial resource problem was. It was your decision not to buy adequate temporary disabilty insurance. So it would have taken a very broad force majeure clause to cover this delay.

Your best move is to attempt to settle with the planitiffs. If you can't, then take your chances in small claims. Use your weather delay execuse and your injury excuse, regardless of whether your contract has a force majeure clause and regardless of what it says. Sometimes you win even if you don't have good cards.

This answer must not be relied on as legal advice for the reasons posted here: http://davidphipps.com/docs/Disclaimer.doc . And I am not your attorney.

David

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Jason Austin Joseph Lundberg

Reputation Level 13

Answered about 2 years ago. Personal Injury Lawyer in San Francisco, CA.

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Additionally, if they do sue you they are only entitled to the damages that have come from the breach of the contract. So, the question is, what are their damages? Did they find someone more expensive to do the job. If so, you may be liable for the difference in the pricing. If the work did not get done and they have not attempted to have it done, there may be no damages.

When you contact them ask very nicely what are the damages? You will not be ordered to do the work for free but will only be required to provide them with what is called the benefit of the bargain.

NOTE: This answer is made available by an attorney licensed to practice in the state of California. The communication is intended for educational purposes only. By using or participating in this site you understand that there is no attorney client privilege between you and the attorney responding.

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