Contractor did not finish by contract end date

[PleaseHelp1975]

I have a contract with a builder. The contract was pretty solid and included detailed aspects of the job, price and most importantly a firm (not estimated as I crossed out the word estimated before everyone signed) end date. That end date has now passed and there is still a great deal of work left. The builder also structured payments so I paid too much up front (lesson learned( so the cost of the work left is far greater than what is still owed.

I would prefer to just work out an extension but I assume if needed I would be able to hire a new contractor and sue for the additional cost over the original contract for the remaining work, plus time for additional rent and legal fees. Is that a fair assumption?

If I offer an extension I want to incorporate a $ penalty past a certain date to be paid to me weekly as well as change the payment plan for the remaining payments so the payment schedule ties in with the remaining items that need to be done. Since the original contract ended that is within my rights to change the payment schedule correct?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state?

 

[PleaseHelp1975]

What is the name of your state?

Massachusetts

 

[justalayman]

No that isn’t a fair assumption.

Did the contract provide for a penalty if the work was not finished by the listed end date?
Did it provide for any action available if work was not completed by the end date?

If it did not specify remedies if the terms were not fulfilled, it is not automatically voided unless it specifies it is upon such a breach. A breach of the end date clause allows you to take several actions. It basically allows you to renegotiate terms if you wish, do nothing other than reset the end date, or to void it if you so choose. In short, it is considered to be voidable but not void.




That doesn’t mean you get to simply have somebody else pick up where this guy left off and expect this contractor to owe whatever it costs to complete the work. That would be inequitable and courts do not like inequitable solutions. They attempt to be fair to each side.

A breach of contract without a remedy listed would basically allow you to terminate the contract. You would need to settle the value of the work completed at this point. You would either pay or demand a refund based on what you’ve already paid compared to what work is already performed.

Then, you can hire a contractor to complete the work. The current contractor would not be obligated to pay for that work because you aren’t damaged in that amount. In a breach of contract you seek damages and if another contractor picks up where this one left off, those are not damages. Those payments are simply money not earned by the original contractor but money you would have paid to the original contractor had he completed the work.

Damages are extra costs that you incur due to the failure of the contractor completing the work by the specified date. When building commercial or industrial properties, lost profits are often considered when calculating damages if the business cannnot open as scheduled. In your case, based on the reference to rent I suspect you are renting housing while the work is being performed. That may be a source of damages but you need to be cautious there. It’s nit as simple as starting to count time from the original completion date until some new contractor completes the work. The increase in costs of materials, if there was a substantial increase from the time the original contract was executed to the time the new contract is executed can arguably be claimed as damages if those costs result in an increase in the cost of the work to you.

In other words: you don’t get the work done for free simoly because the original contractor didnt finish on time unless your contract allows you to hire a replacement at the cost of the original contractor. You claim actual increased costs/expenses to you that you would not have incurred had the contract been completed as written.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

I crossed out the word estimated before everyone signed) end date.

Did you and the builder initial where estimated was crossed out?