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Should you file a lawsuit against your contractor?

While some people who live in the state of Florida are equipped to undertake repairs and additions to their homes or businesses, many are not in that situation. This means that in order to get anything done they will have to hire someone to do it for them. When this happens the contractor and property owner enter into a contract. While the work is often completed as expected, in other situations things do not go as planned and a property owner may decide to pursue a legal claim against the contractor. In this post we will discuss when this might be a good approach.

For a breach of contract claim to make sense, several elements must be present. The first is that a contract between the contractor and the property owner actually existed. The contract need not be in writing to be valid. It could also be oral. In either instance, for a claim to succeed, the existence of the contract must be supported by evidence.

Next, the person who filed the lawsuit must show that he or she completed his or her part of the deal. For example, the homeowner paid the contractor as promised. In addition, it must be shown that the contractor did not hold up its part of the bargain, constituting a breach of the contract. This could be via not completing work as promised or completing it in a manner that is not what was expected.

Last, it must be shown that as a result of the breach the property owner incurred damages. These damages could take the form of the money the property owner had to pay another contractor to finish or repair the work that was contracted for with the other contractor.

For the average property owner it may not be clear whether these elements are in existence in their situation. To help determine whether they are it can be beneficial to contact a lawyer who handles breach of contract claims.

Source: FindLaw, “Filing a Lawsuit: Should you Sue?” Accessed Jan. 8, 2015

Mon Aug 27, 2:18pm

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