Who pays when the client brakes the contract?

Question

My husband has been working for a lady (client) for about 8 months, after a lot of arguing going back & forth for a lot of different reasons, my husband threaten to not finish Apt B if she didn't pay Apt A in a timely manner. She took it as my husband playing "hard to get". She said she wasn't going to pay him until next week, & he said he wouldn't come back until next week then- then she threaten to make "changes" around the building, & reminded my husband that she has supposedly paid him in full for Apt B, so Hubby said he ONLY had a couple more things to do & told her he would just get it over with & finish. A couple minutes later we got a text with her saying that NO she didn't want him to finish & banned him from coming back into the building & she said she would deduct what we owe her from the final check from Apt A. If I am not mistaken, I believe if the client ends the contract before it is finished & its not the contractors fault, then the client is the one who broke the contractor & has no right from withholding any monies. Any one know the for sure fact on this, I want to make sure I sue her correctly.

Answer 1

if she dont sue you first, it all depends on whats in the contract, is there a time line for payment or a time line for when the work had to be done,

does it say who pays for the materials an when?

what are the penilties for breaking the contract?

just him saying that he wasnt coming back might be taken as he broke the contract.

if this cant be settled out of court, then someones going to get sued

Answer 2

If I understand your summary correctly, she has already paid in full for Apt B, which your husband didn't finish and both sides agree he isn't going to.

She has not paid in full for Apt A, which is finished, and which you said she is going to pay you for, minus whatever it costs to have someone else finish Apt B.

In that case, she is fully and completely compensating your husband for the work he completed prior to the termination of the relationship. The good news is, you have nothing to sue her for, because she is resolving this with a fair and equitable payment for exactly the work your husband did. No more and no less.

As long as she doesn't deduct an unreasonably high amount for the work left unfinished, you're in the clear.

Answer 3

If there is/was a legal contract and the client abruptly ended then the client is the responsible party. Now because it appears the matter is over payment if there was no designated date or time the payment was to be rendered, it may be a little sticky.