Advice on breach of contract for developing a website? What are my options?

[anonymouschris]

A couple of my friends and I tried starting this small business. We hired a web developer who was responsible for the entire website. During the development process we hit a lot of roadblocks which delayed the launch of the site. Eventually we decided to just release a half built site, and waited for his efforts to complete the site. It's been 3-4 years now (I can't even recall it's been so long) and the website is still not complete. We approached him on several occasions requesting that he either complete the site or give us a full refund. We decided to give him another chance on several occasions to complete the site, but it never came to fruition. Eventually we just gave up calling/emailing him and he has never contacted us. We've paid him approximately 7k, what are my options here?

 

[Harold falcon]

Potentially a lawsuit for breach of contract. You might be able to recover the entire amount paid, or perhaps only a refund for the portion of work not performed. Depending on locations and jurisdictions you might be better off filing in a "small claims" type court. I suggest you contact your local bar association for a referral to an attorney to go over your paperwork with you. Most bar association referrals offer low cost or free consultations. PM me your location and I'll be happy to provide you with contact information.

 

[dragon8]

I surpised that you guys waited that long to say anything. The statute of limitations may have run depending on where you are.

What does the contract state? If I were you I'd send him a demand letter from an attorney and see if there is any contact from him

 

[IUtoSLU]

Baseball bat to his knee caps. Or, call an attorney.

 

[teddieriley]

Based on the limited info, you would probably be entitled to half what you paid. Do you even have a written contract that outlines what the developer was supposed to do? I can imagine him arguing what you got was all he was obligated to provide you. You can probably get away consulting with an attorney for a couple of hours to know your rights with respect to filing in small claims court. Gather all your paperwork, evidence, e-mails, dates of meetings, and get your story straight. Small claims should be straight forward, but you need evidence of what you did not get and what you paid.

What you should not have done was pay him upfront. Pay 1/2 upfront and 1/2 of total upon completion. Unfortunately a friend of mine paid a contractor $10K upfront, and guess what, he never showed up to work! Why the hell he did that, who knows.

 

[anonymouschris]

Thank you for all the advice. harvey_birdman has directed me in the right direction I think and we'll see what will result of this. I do have a contract, but I am also afraid that he will say he will argue that he's completed what is stated in the contract, albeit our email exchanges will make it evident that he never completed his work. i'm not sure an attorney letter will scare him enough to make him pay, and filing a lawsuit will probably be too expensive, but we'll see what will happen.

 

[teddieriley]

^^ Depending on jurisdiction, filing small claims is something like $75, so it's not so bad if you're looking to recover a few thousand.

 

[DNW]

Originally Posted by teddieriley

^^ Depending on jurisdiction, filing small claims is something like $75, so it's not so bad if you're looking to recover a few thousand.

There's also a max limit for small claims court. The amount he's looking for might be over that limit.

But, let me first state the obvious: (1) it's all in the contract; and (2) see an attorney. If you see an attorney, he'll be able to tell you whether you have a case without it costing you too much money (might even be free during the free consultation). Also, you might be able to hire him on a contingent basis, i.e. he gets x% of the amount recovered.

Good luck, and as this is the interwebz, any legal advice you've received is completely and utterly useless.

Now, go sue somebody.