stopped work on job

What is the name of your state? FL

I do tile work by advertizing and referall. I was doing some work for a customer that had agreed to a certain price (verbally) and when I was almost finished, he changed the terms of the agreement and said it was for less. I decided not to finish the job and didn't have anymore communications with him. Now he says he is going to get an attorney involved. What can I do to protect myself? Does he have anything to stand on? I have a witness who was there when we agreed to the original price.

Thanks.

You don't say whether or not you're a licensed contractor and could have put a mechanic's lien on the property, but walking off the job didn't help you, in my opinion.

A better course of action would hve been to document grievances in writing, finish the job and sue for damages (particularly, if you had a witness to the original oral agreement) (oral agreement - another thing that you should discontinue).

I think you have some problems. Haven't checked your statutes yet but, in my state, if the work you were doing would require a licensed contractor, you couldn't get paid for anything (even the reasonable value of your labor and materials) (I suspect that you know the requirements in your own state).

What good is a witness? You abandoned the job. Chances are 50/50, your former "employer" is going to come forward and claim damages because the work was needed by X date, he had to spend $Y to find another to finish it and $Z dollars for the materials to do it.

If you were working via "referrals" to avoid licensing, bonding, insurance, and/or taxes (just saying "if"), it wasn't a good idea, and this problem can re-occur. If everything was "straight up", I still think you created problems by ending it that way, but you may be able to get paid for work done. As far as a breach of contract, it's his word against yours and your witness. Don't know how that will come out.