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We had a couple estimates done for an insurance job on my sunroom. I signed on to have one GC do the mitigation for water cleanup. That I know I am liable for and will pay.
Then I signed to pay for any repairs done to the home. They in turn, were to do all the leg work getting the money from the insurance co. They could not. The ins. co. finally, after over a month sent out their own GC for the estimate and said they would go with their estimate and that would be final.
We, then, after threats from the original GC and some blackmail that they would fire my sister (who is a receptionist) if we didn't go with them, decided we did not care for their work or business ethics and fired them.
Now, they are going for 2% of the estimate cost(which I never saw) and are billing $2500. for loss of profit/breach of contract/overhead expenses!
They didn't do anything but make some phone calls. There was no work done on my home by them. We even got the sunroom companies to come out and do estimates. They never sent one at all, until the end and they were in danger of losing the job. At that point, I had such a bad taste in my mouth about there business, that I didn't want them as my GC.
Do they have grounds here, legally? What type of lawyer would I need to talk to? I am so upset about this. MI is an "at will" state, I should be able to let them go with no reason at all. They are now threatening a to put a lien on my home.
We had a couple estimates done for an insurance job on my sunroom. I signed on to have one GC do the mitigation for water cleanup. That I know I am liable for and will pay.
Then I signed to pay for any repairs done to the home. They in turn, were to do all the leg work getting the money from the insurance co. They could not. The ins. co. finally, after over a month sent out their own GC for the estimate and said they would go with their estimate and that would be final.
We, then, after threats from the original GC and some blackmail that they would fire my sister (who is a receptionist) if we didn't go with them, decided we did not care for their work or business ethics and fired them.
Now, they are going for 2% of the estimate cost(which I never saw) and are billing $2500. for loss of profit/breach of contract/overhead expenses!
They didn't do anything but make some phone calls. There was no work done on my home by them. We even got the sunroom companies to come out and do estimates. They never sent one at all, until the end and they were in danger of losing the job. At that point, I had such a bad taste in my mouth about there business, that I didn't want them as my GC.
Do they have grounds here, legally? What type of lawyer would I need to talk to? I am so upset about this. MI is an "at will" state, I should be able to let them go with no reason at all. They are now threatening a to put a lien on my home.
Any advice?
Thanks!
Yes, they could put a lien on. Have you received a "intent to lien"???
No. They have just threatened it. I don't understand why. They have done nothing. Basically, we fired them because of that and a few other less than professional things. Why would they be entitled to any compensation other than the mitigation? One of the "things" would be considered insurance fraud. I don't really want to use that but if I need to I will.
So, is there construction attys out there? Or would they be contract attys?
No. They have just threatened it. I don't understand why. They have done nothing. Basically, we fired them because of that and a few other less than professional things. Why would they be entitled to any compensation other than the mitigation? One of the "things" would be considered insurance fraud. I don't really want to use that but if I need to I will.
So, is there construction attys out there? Or would they be contract attys?
Thanks for your help.
Did "they" file the claim or did you? Sounds to me like they have a good case, if you signed an agreement.
I don't think any claims are filed yet. They are just threatening to. The thing is that when they first came out to do the mitigation, which was a separate agreement, they had me sign a paper that basically stated if they did the repairs that we agree to pay them. They were to get the insurance co to pay. They couldn't. This went on for 2 months. We finally had to step in and call the ins. co. and all the sunroom companies for estimates. They came out only for the mitigation work. They tried to get over $3000. for that but my ins co. would only pay $2050. That includes my deductible. That part is fine. I only saw them 3 times for the temp work.
My point is that, should they get paid when they did nothing? They did not hold up their end of the agreement. They didn't even get the claim paid. Another GC did. Didn't hear from them for 2 weeks before. When they found out that the claim was being settled for considerably more than they could get-that's when all the threats started. Can't a person fire a co. when they feel they were not getting the job done? Legally, what grounds do they have? I thought payment was for services rendered.
I do not hate these guys, I just don't appreciate being "bullied" into something when I don't feel comfortable with their approach to this. They have been dishonest and it makes me wonder what else they will pull. BTW, my home is in MI and I am living in NV at this time. I need a company that I can completely trust to do this job. (not that that matters, legally, but just a sidenote)
Doesn't really matter that I don't want to hear it, I guess I just want to know if they have legal grounds to get this $6000. they are claiming we owe them. If they do, and it will cost me more to fight this, then I guess I eat it. The ins. co. says the paper I signed holds no water in court. That it is not a legal document at all. The other GC co. can't believe they are going to all this extent. Basically, they say if I don't want them for the job, they don't want the job because it will just be a hassle.
I don't know what to think. Going to a lawyer here in NV will not be much help with MI laws, I doubt.
Going to a lawyer here in NV will not be much help with MI laws
Contract law does not vary from state to state. An attorney in NV can advise you.
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What type of lawyer would I need to talk to?
Any attorney with a general practice can help you.
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MI is an "at will" state, I should be able to let them go with no reason at all.
"at will" is not applicable. The contractor is not your direct employee.
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...we fired them because of...less than professional things. One of the "things" would be considered insurance fraud
. If they didn't do the work, didn't communicate with the insurance co, and didn't get paid, they didn't commit insurance fraud.
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The ins. co. says the paper I signed holds no water in court
Trusting an insurance co. for legal advice is umm, tantamount to trusting people on a house forum for legal advice. Take the paper to an attorney. No one can help you without reading the document. However, just to give you a little hope.... "consideration" is one of the necessary elements of a valid contract. There must be an agreed-upon price for the service, and you seem to be saying there was no dollar amount on the paper you signed.
Call an attorney.
Thank you for your insight, hcgCali. The insurance fraud was not for those things you listed. Basically, they altered the job so that it could be claimed. I did not realize that what they did could be considered fraud until I did some research. Like I said, I don't really want to go there. I am not out to destroy this company's reputation.
No, there was no dollar amount discussed. Just payment for repairs done. This I did agree to and would have definitely paid had they done any. They told me they submitted an estimate to the ins. co. which I have never seen. Just spoke to them yesterday and told them I would like to see a copy of it. Supposedly it was some outrageous amount-over $30,000.-which the ins. co. told me. Hence, they are billing for 2% of the estimate cost.
Thanks again, I will consult an atty.
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