Do you need a cancellation clause to cancel a contact?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Do you need a cancellation clause to cancel a contact?
I run a small landscape maintenance company. A few days ago I received a letter from a property management company that they were cancelling our contract. I asked them if they were going to buy out the remainder of the contract, which would have been $900 for last 2 weeks of this moth, and $3600 for the next 2 months together. So all together $4500. They said that they were not going to because our contract did not have a “cancel clause” so they could cancel anytime they wanted. What my contract does have is a stated start date of the first day of this year and end date of the last day of this year. It also has a total amount for the year of $21,600 which was to be divided up into 12 equal payments. Do I have a a case to take them to small claims court and retrieve the remainder of the contract?
Asked on October 10, 2011 under Business Law, Oregon
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
There is no need to have a cancellation provision within the written contract that you are writing about. The agreement is the agreement setting forth a set term with a monthly amount to be paid to you for landscape maintenance work.
The customer is trying to force you to agree that the contract is at an end so that no further payments are owed to you. If you are unwilling to agree that the contract is over, you need to write the customer setting forth your position keeping a copy of the letter for future need.
If you are not paid for the balance of the agreement, your option is small claims court.
Good luck.
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.