Contract law

[Shogidan]

Wisconsin

I am a painter and I have a signed contract with a customer to paint the exterior of his home. I put a start date on the contract with a disclaimer that reads:

Any alteration or deveation from above specifications involving extra costs will be executed only upon written order, and will become an extra charge over and above the estimate. All agreements contingent upon strikes, accidents, or delays beyond our control.

I also added "weather permit" to the contract as well. Prior to the customer signing I also asked them to read and initial next to the above statement.

Due to extreme heat and humidity ( heat index average of 100 degrees ) I have fallen behind and I have notified the customer that I am 2 weeks behind. I also stated that I might not be able to complete the residence by the end of 2001. I also told him that I would not want to start the project, if I felt that I would be unable to complete the work before winter or temperatures below 45 degrees. The customer said he wants his house done and he dosen't want to hear anything else. I suggested that he try to find another painter if he was not satisfied with my start time.

Now 3 weeks later, I am going to be as much as 4 weeks late due to the extreme heat. The customer is now threatening to sue me. What can I do to try and prevent this from happening? Do I have any legal ground?

In need of serious advice!

Dan

P.S.

Thank you in advance!

 

[JETX]

Though it sounds like you had a fairly good 'contingency' statement, it appears that it really only covered "strikes, accidents or delays beyond our control". However, your hastily added "weather delays" would depend entirely on what was actually written and whether 'the normal person' would interpret that to also be a 'contingency'.

I do believe thought that rather than focusing on the 'weather issue', I would attempt to apply the 'delays beyond your control' provision. The fact is that if you were to paint with too high a temperature, or too low a temperature, or too high a humidity, the paint will not adhere properly. And if the paint starts to peel or crack, you can bet the owner will be yelling about a poor job.

A couple of questions/ideas:
1) It does seem unlikely to me that you are unable to finish painting a house exterior in the time between early August (now) and the first freeze (October?? in Wisconsin). Must be a REALLY big house. Are you sure that there isn't another problem??

2) How many man-hours do you estimate it will take to do the job?? How many men can you put on the job?? How many hours per day?? These factors will tell you how many days.

3) Have you tried to explain the problems with painting surfaces in high/low temperature or humidity??? Show him the paint instructions and painting recommendations by the manufacturer.

4) If the owner just flat insists that he wants it painted NOW, make sure that he signs a 'release' that you will NOT be responsible for any cracking or peeling of his paint due to the owners insistence of painting.