Q: Can we take legal action for unfinished house expansion paid in full in NY?
About five years ago, my parents hired a contractor and his team to build an upstairs expansion to our house, paying approximately $60,000 in cash and in full. Unfortunately, the contractor was diagnosed with cancer three years ago, and the job remains unfinished, leaving us with an open and drafty area connecting the expansion to the living room, without insulation. My parents have communicated through text messages, but we have received no response since his diagnosis. There is no written contract, only text message records. Can my parents take legal action to resolve this issue and potentially take him to court?
A: You can sue, but at this point this guy is not doing the work. Therefore, you need to hire someone to finish it, and the suit is the money you had to pay extra to get it done. The first guy gets paid for what he did do, so you do not get back the whole 60K in any event.
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A:
Yes, your parents may still be able to take legal action, even though there is no formal written contract. In New York, a contract can be enforced if there is clear evidence of an agreement, and text messages, payment records, and witness testimony can serve as proof. The fact that your parents paid in full and received only partial work creates a strong basis to claim breach of contract or unjust enrichment.
However, one challenge may be the amount of time that has passed. New York has a six-year statute of limitations for breach of contract claims, so if the payment was made five years ago and the work has been stalled for three, there may still be time to act—but not much. The contractor's illness is unfortunate, but it doesn’t erase the obligation to complete the work or return funds for unfinished services.
Your parents should gather all available documentation—text messages, receipts, any photos of the work site, and notes about communication attempts. They can then consider sending a formal demand letter or filing a claim in court to recover part of the funds or seek an order to finish the work. They’ve waited long enough, and they deserve either the finished home they paid for or a fair resolution.
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