Can someone sue my company for work a different company did if we referred that company?
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Can someone sue my company for work a different company did if we referred that company?
We were hired to do a bathroom job just cosmetic but we didn’t have the time to do it so we referred them to a plumber who wanted the job. They ended up firing him and asking us to come back and after we finished all of the cosmetic work only they asked the plumber to come back and finish and he didn’t so they refused to pay us. Now they are sending threatening text messages demanding $5000 from us or they will sue because they are saying that the plumbing was done wrong. We didn’t touch any plumbing.
Asked on July 18, 2016 under Business Law, New York
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
If the plumber subcontracted through you, then you, as the contractor--i.e. as the party contracted to the client--are liable for any bad work or failure to complete by the plumber and the client can sue you for it (you, in turn, can sue the plumber for anything he cost you due to his breach of contract and/or professional negligence). However, if the client directly hired and/or contracted with plumber and you did not manage or oversee him, you are not liable for what the plumber did. They cannot sue you for what an independent party or contractor did, and they have to pay you, as per the agreement, if you completed your work to commercially acceptable standards.
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