Question #1: During a cold week in February, a pipe in Gert’s house froze and th
ID: 460155 • Letter: Q
Question
Question #1: During a cold week in February, a pipe in Gert’s house froze and then sprung a leak. The water caused damage to a portion of the basement. Gert contracted with Holly’s Plumbing & Construction Company to have the pipe fixed and the water damage to her house repaired. Holly’s quoted Gert a total price of $10,000 for the complete project, and required that Gert pay 10 percent of the price in advance. Gert paid the initial 10 percent of the contract price, and Holly’s completed all of the work as described in the parties’ agreement. However, now Gert refuses to pay the balance of the agreed upon price for this project. What legal remedies can Holly’s pursue in this situation? What is the process Holly’s must follow? What could Holly’s do to prevent this type of problem in the future?Describe and explain your answer in depth.
Question #1: During a cold week in February, a pipe in Gert’s house froze and then sprung a leak. The water caused damage to a portion of the basement. Gert contracted with Holly’s Plumbing & Construction Company to have the pipe fixed and the water damage to her house repaired. Holly’s quoted Gert a total price of $10,000 for the complete project, and required that Gert pay 10 percent of the price in advance. Gert paid the initial 10 percent of the contract price, and Holly’s completed all of the work as described in the parties’ agreement. However, now Gert refuses to pay the balance of the agreed upon price for this project. What legal remedies can Holly’s pursue in this situation? What is the process Holly’s must follow? What could Holly’s do to prevent this type of problem in the future?Describe and explain your answer in depth.
Explanation / Answer
This narration is about a clear cut case of breach of contract. Therefore Holly can sue Gert and take the appropriate legal action under the law of the land. To begin with Holly may put social pressure to extract his dues from Gert. Persuation and counselling may be tried before sending a legal notice to Gert. It is always better to take help of legal persons and local administration in such cases. One way to avoid such problems is to take the full payment in advance and or partial payments against the partial work before/after completion of same. I also do not find any harm in giving the threat to take back the material (like reuseable pipes and fittings) and undo the work done. Never the less the best option is legal remedy for part performance and or non performance of duties under the contract and also demand for reimburement of legal expenses with penalties and or losses as applicable under the law of the land.