Legal Question in Business Law in Georgia
My company was contracted for a job in Upholstery in Savannah,Ga by a company in Tampa,FL. I finished the job on 7/29/11 I sent my final invoice with the balance owed, a week past and I called to inquire about my payment and I was told that they could only send partial payment. the following week I received a call from the company and was told that they had an issue with some of the chairs I did and that they could only send partial payment, I said ok and that I would fix and they told me I wold get a call back with the number of chairs to be fix. Never heard from them so I now sent an email about it and the response was that another upholstery company had been contracted and that they were going to do the work as of Monday 7/22/11 and that they were going to pay them from the total amount owed to me. Can this company do that after I had agreed to fix the issue they had? and was it wrong in my part to ask for part of the money owe which is over ten thousand dollars. Please advise on what can I do to get my money owed to me.
Thank You.
Ron.
2 Answers from Attorneys
The answer depends of what you didn't tell us - what did the written contract say about payment and about customer satisfaction and about your remedies. Since you are in business, one of the first things you should have done was to retain a lawyer to draft your contracts, and you will want to call that lawyer now.
As a Franchise Attorney I basically agree with the other attorney answer. But let's say you don't have an attorney-drafted contract. You did the work, they owe you the money. Are you a licensed contractor? That may impact your ability to file a lien and prevail in this matter. Also, you're in Georgia and they are in Florida. Sound's like federal court to me - and likely in Florida - unless your contract specified otherwise (which is another reason why contracts are worth their weight in gold). These are all issues you need to research, so (and especially when it comes to a $10,000 amount owed you) consult with a good business or franchise attorney in your area for specific advice.
Mr. Franchise - Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D.
Franchise Foundations, a Professional Corporation
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