A Question of Law:

[Guest Ruben]

I live in a condominium and am part of the Board of Directors. Last summer I signed two contracts with the same contractor for blacktop repair on the property. Neither contract included a tentative completion date, though it was expected both contracts would be completed in the summer of 2008. One contarct called for the repair of cracks in the blacktop; this contract was completed last summer to our satisfaction. The second contract called for some blacktop replacement. This contract was not completed last year due to (1) steady rains for much of the time and (2) the refusal of the contractor to answer his phone. When calling we were told to leave our name and number and he would call us back. He never did.

 

So far this summer the story is the same. The blacktop replacement has not been done, and the contractor will not return our calls. Another Board member did get a return call in early summer but nothing since. We are now in the last week of July, and it seems likely that the contract will not be done before the snow flies.

 

Question: May I get another contractor to do this job? I want to get another contractor and then notify the original contractor via registered letter, receipt requested, that if he does not complete the job by a certain date, such as August 15, the Board will consider the contract with him to be null and will proceed with another company. Would the condominium be within its rights to do this, that is, would it be legal for us to leave the original contractor out of the picture in spite of our contract with him?

[alanalt]

If you have a question of law, my advice is to see a lawyer. In this case, I doubt anyone will be able to provide a seriously helpful answer on this without reviewing the contract and knowing something about the contract law in your jurisdiction...

 

Alan

[+ Lucky]

I agree with alanalt. To try to get useful legal advice here is futile when we don't have all of the information. Surely your HOA can spring for a lawyer to review the matter.

[MsGuy]

Ditto, plus look for a lawyer that handles a fair amount of construction work. It wouldn't be a bad idea to ask for a set of simple forms for use in future repair work. For some reason the forms many contractors use don't include stuff like expected completion dates or penalties for late or unworkmanlike performance.

[Lookin]

http://i02.bdbphotos.com/3L/70/0000484370-18836L.jpg

 

Mr. Blacktop, was it your understanding that you

had until the End of Time to complete this work?