Broken Arrow, OK asked in Consumer Law, Business Law and Civil Litigation for Texas

Q: Do I need to hire a lawyer?

I hired a contractor to build a driveway for a property my brother owns. After going back and forth I have asked him to finish the driveway by supplying more rock. I still owe him $4800 which I am refusing to pay until the job is finished. He dug the drive to deep and did not put enough rock in to fill what he took out. There are areas where you can see the underlayment. I have several written statements and given resnable time and request to repair but still the contractor refuses and is insisting that I pay or face leagal action.

1 Lawyer Answer
Tim Akpinar
Tim Akpinar
Answered
  • Little Neck, NY

A: That's a decision that's up to you. If the two of your bring lawyers into the fray, between the two of you, you could easily chew through your amount in dispute of $4,800 between intakes, document reviews, drafting summons and complaints, answers, depositions, hearings, etc. And you could still be at square one in terms of confronting the technical realities of fixing your driveway. For a dispute of that size, it could pay to try to find some resolution outside court. It's nobody's business how the two of you handle the problem, but it's a good guess that the contractor is reluctant to dig up the work he already did, which could result in a money-losing project for him. Maybe if the two of you figure out a way to resolve things where both of you walk away without feeling burned, you could dispense with calling in the lawyers. Good luck

Tim Akpinar

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