What to do if Im an interior designer and I have a disgruntled client who is threatening to sue me because her shades have not come in correctly?
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What to do if Im an interior designer and I have a disgruntled client who is threatening to sue me because her shades have not come in correctly?
I have offered to either try and resolve the problem or give her a full refund and neither are satisfying her, she is still threading to sue because she wants to be compensated for her time dealing with the issue, is this possible and what are my rights?
Asked on December 15, 2014 under Business Law, Ohio
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
Good news: it's almost impossible for someone to receive compensation for their "time spent dealing with an issue--in the vast majority of cases, the law does not recognize this as a "damage" or "injury" for which compensation is available. (The exceptions are mostly when a professional who charges by the hour is caused to expend his/her time for free.)
Bad news: it's almost impossible to stop someone from at least filing a lawsuit, and forcing you to spend time and money dealing with it.
(Possibly) good news: if you are sued, if the claim is, as it may be, baseless, you could potentially countersue her for abuse or misuse of process--it's a difficult claim to make, but sometimes you can get some compensation for a frivolous lawsuit, and the threat of such a countersuit may help deter baseless suits.
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