can I sue for unfinished work done on my home

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can I sue for unfinished work done on my home

I hired a person to tare down and replace an extension on the back of my home the
work was not completed .I paid in full before the work was done plus more money
for other work that he promised to do because he said he needed to pay taxes on
his property ,we went to court after he did not do work , but he agreed that he
would do work court trial was dismissed. I wrote another contract that he did not
honor never did work.Please let me know what I can do

Asked on June 27, 2016 under Business Law, Maryland

Answers:

S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 7 years ago | Contributor

You can sue the person for breach of contract for failing to comply with the terms of the new contract. You can seek damages (monetary compensation) for breach of contract.  Your damages should include the cost of having someone else complete the work if you decide to hire another individual.  You will need to mitigate (minimize) damages by hiring someone whose fees are comparable to other contractors in the area.  If you were to hire the most expensive person you could find, you have failed to mitigate damages and your damages will be reduced accordingly.
An alternative remedy to damages is specific performance by which the court would order your current contractor to complete the work and comply with the terms of the new contract.  Since the person has already failed twice to complete the work, you might not want to pursue specific performance.
If at trial when the case was dismissed because the contractor agreed to finish the work, if the court ordered the contractor to complete the work, you can pursue contempt of court for failure to comply with the court's order.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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