Hamtramck, MI asked in Contracts and Construction Law for Ohio

Q: Can a home builder be sued for breech of contract if they don’t follow plans, or finish per contract time frame?

All elements of house build were signed by all parties (builder/homeowner). There was a specific electrical plan for entire house that was signed off. We identified they were not following signed electrical plan. When confronted why they weren’t following they stated “we don’t follow those but we wire to code”. Contract also stated they would be completed in 6 months it’s been 8 1/2 months. Can we sue for breech of contract ?

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1 Lawyer Answer

A: Yes. Unless the deviation from the signed electrical plan is relatively minor or the result of an extreme increase in the cost. You should be able to require the contractor to follow the signed electrical plan. Regarding the 2 1/2 month delay, you may be able to sue for breach of contract depending upon the language of your contract and whether there are reasonable explanations for the delay, such as extreme weather or material being unavailable from the supplier. However, you should consider the amount of your damages and whether they were reasonably foreseeable. Inconvenience and being annoyed are not items that are recoverable, but additional living expenses, interest costs on the loan, increased construction costs would be recoverable.

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