Legal Question in Construction Law in New York

i was wondering if a verbile agreement is still binding in ny state and if such an agreement for repair s on a porch was then revised to doing more than repairs am i entitled to more money as the job went on i told the home owner each part was going to cost the repairs were in the 2000 range i only wanted to collect 1200 more he agreed the home owner but did not follow thru the job was well over 8000 i did a full glue down roof,replaced a main beam to support the second story roof ,cleaned out under 2 porchs,jacked up the house in the rear,cleaned the garage out,made all new railings ,redecked 1st floor porch,built 8 x 10 deck on the roof and new railings.we also poured new footings under the porch.he did send me three page s of text stateing he paid me 2020. 20 dollars to much7 months ago can i do anything or is this just a life lesson


Asked on 3/14/11, 1:28 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Kevin Connolly Kevin J. Connolly

You performed more than repairs: you performed a permanent improvement of real estate. If you had done the work within the past four months, you would have been entitled to file and enforce a mechanic's lien on the property. You can still take him to small claims court. The theory of your case is "quantum meruit." I suggest you Google the phrase construction quantum meruit new york and study the results.

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Answered on 3/15/11, 7:43 am


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