architect issue

[eitockma]

What is the name of your state?
California

My husband and I hired an "architect" to draw up plans for a two story additon to our house. After 2 1/2 years, he still hadn't finished the plans due to medical problems. Since we had already paid him for various phases and he was almost done, we didn't want to lose that money and start over with someone else. We finally told him we no longer wished to do business with him and requested all our money back. After receiving our letter, he finished the plans and sent them to us in the mail. We have not opened them yet to see if they really are finished. He told us they were finished a year ago and we submitted them to the city for a permit. We were denied a permit 3 times because he made various errors and when he attempted to complete the corrections, he didn't do them correctly. Each time he has made corrections, we've had to have recalculations done by a structural engineer which has cost us more and more money. He has had a list of corrections to complete for almost a year and had not completed them until we sent the letter to him telling him we wanted our money back. We never stated a time frame for completion in our contract, but I think 3 years is a little excessive. I sent a letter to him stating that we would be sueing him in small claims court. He responded back stating that he has no money, is on welfare, and his part of the job is done. What should we do now?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.What is the name of your state?

 

[JETX]

He has had a list of corrections to complete for almost a year and had not completed them until we sent the letter to him telling him we wanted our money back. We never stated a time frame for completion in our contract, but I think 3 years is a little excessive. I sent a letter to him stating that we would be sueing him in small claims court. He responded back stating that he has no money, is on welfare, and his part of the job is done. What should we do now?

One question.... what is the CURRENT condition of the plans??
If they are done, pay him in full.
If they are not done, contact another architect to find out what it would take to complete and then deduct from the full amount and pay him the difference.

Your expectation to benefit from his work and expect to pay nothing for it... won't fly in court.

 

[eitockma]

architect problem cont

We do not know if the plans are finished because we have not opened them. We told him we wanted our money back because after almost 3 years we still had no usable plans. Only after he received a letter from us stating that we did not wish to continue doing business with him and requested our money back, did he finish the plans...or so he says. He said they were finished a year ago and ready to submit to the city for a permit to begin construction, but we've been denied a permit 3 times already due to his mistakes. He's been given lists of corrections, he takes the lists and supposedly makes the corrections, we submit the plans back to the city, and we get denied and are given a list of more corrections. This has been going on for a year. We wanted to get our money back and use it to hire someone else who might actually know what he is doing. This architect has made numerous errors over and over and has cost us more and more money each time he tries to correct something. We are out over $8000.00!

 

[JETX]

If the plans are finished.... pay him in full.
If they are not done, contact another architect to find out what it would take to complete and then deduct from the full amount and pay him the difference.

Your expectation to benefit from his work and expect to pay nothing for it... won't fly in court.

 

[HomeGuru]

I repeat:


If the plans are finished.... pay him in full.
If they are not done, contact another architect to find out what it would take to complete and then deduct from the full amount and pay him the difference.

Your expectation to benefit from his work and expect to pay nothing for it... won't fly in court.