What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California
I'm was a full-time engineering consultant who was consulting for a private company. My contract was put on hold on in early November. My last 3 weeks of consulting services have not been paid and are overdue (a total of $10-20K is overdue). Prior to this, ~ 9 months of consulting services were paid for within a reasonable time frame of the submitted invoices. I submitted invoices each week and the contract states that payment is due within 5 work days. The overdue fees are now more than 5 weeks overdue.
The contract has the following clauses:
In the main body - "The Company will pay, within thirty days after the effective date of termination, all amounts owing to Consultant for Service completed and accepted by the Company where such acceptance shall not be unreasonably withheld, prior to the termination date and related reimbursable expenses, if any, submitted in accordance with the Company's policies ..."
Also in the main body - "The Company may terminate this Agreement upon giving the Consultant fourteen days prior written notice of such termination ..."
There was no prior notice given to me. However, I'm not concerned about that.
The company is not responding to my emails or phone calls requesting payment for my last 3 weeks of consulting. The company is still in business. Our contract has a binding arbitration clause which waives my rights to a jury trial - the contract states that we must use Judicial Arbitration & Mediation Services, Inc. (JAMS) to resolve issues. I'm looking for advice on how to best proceed with collection of the overdue fees. Obviously, I'd like to maximize the amount of fees that I collect and minimize the costs of collection. The Company is located in San Jose, CA.
Thank you for your assistance. This is the first (and hopefully the last) time I've ever been in a legal dispute.
I'm was a full-time engineering consultant who was consulting for a private company. My contract was put on hold on in early November. My last 3 weeks of consulting services have not been paid and are overdue (a total of $10-20K is overdue). Prior to this, ~ 9 months of consulting services were paid for within a reasonable time frame of the submitted invoices. I submitted invoices each week and the contract states that payment is due within 5 work days. The overdue fees are now more than 5 weeks overdue.
The contract has the following clauses:
In the main body - "The Company will pay, within thirty days after the effective date of termination, all amounts owing to Consultant for Service completed and accepted by the Company where such acceptance shall not be unreasonably withheld, prior to the termination date and related reimbursable expenses, if any, submitted in accordance with the Company's policies ..."
Also in the main body - "The Company may terminate this Agreement upon giving the Consultant fourteen days prior written notice of such termination ..."
There was no prior notice given to me. However, I'm not concerned about that.
The company is not responding to my emails or phone calls requesting payment for my last 3 weeks of consulting. The company is still in business. Our contract has a binding arbitration clause which waives my rights to a jury trial - the contract states that we must use Judicial Arbitration & Mediation Services, Inc. (JAMS) to resolve issues. I'm looking for advice on how to best proceed with collection of the overdue fees. Obviously, I'd like to maximize the amount of fees that I collect and minimize the costs of collection. The Company is located in San Jose, CA.
Thank you for your assistance. This is the first (and hopefully the last) time I've ever been in a legal dispute.