Custom home builder change without permission, chance of winning the litigation?

[aircw2005]

Jurisdiction

Washington

Hello friends in the forum:

We are in the process of building a custom home with a builder. Here are our situations:

1. We are in a dispute with the builder regarding the quality of the foundation. We have hired 3rd party engineer to evaluate the quality.
2. During the dispute process, we found that the builder change the dimension of the foundation walls, without our permission. He admits that and we note it in email with him.
3. As a consequence, this change will lead to changes in framing plan, which we don't accept.

Our proposal is to demolish the foundation with quality issue and wrong dimension, which costs $16K in demolition and $35K in building. The builder does not accept and insist the foundation as it is. We plan to go to mitigation service with the builder. If it does not work out, we would have to take legal actions, in our case, what's the chance of winning the litigation?

 

[army judge]

what's the chance of winning the litigation?

No one can accurately handicap ANY legal outcome, much less one that could end up going to trial.

It is in your best interests to try and negotiate the dispute.

Mediation can be very helpful, but BOTH parties must be willing to bend.

No need to tell me if you are willing, just think about it, discuss it with family, spouse, friends, and then decide.

Take a few days to think about how much (if anything) are you willing to bend.

If you are relying on email communications, I suggest you begin using written communications, as in letters sent by US Mail, FedEx, or UPS.

It is wise to consult at least TWO licensed attorneys near your residence.

The initial consultation is normally offered at no charge, but you'll learn a great deal in 30 minutes at no cost except your time.

Good luck.

 

[mightymoose]

Your chance of winning depends on how closely the language of your contract addresses this issue.
If it is vague then it is open to interpretation and you may not like the end result.
What was the reason for the change? Was it an error or was there some logical reason for it?

 

[zddoodah]

what's the chance of winning the litigation?

You don't seriously expect anonymous strangers on the internet to assess your "chances of winning" based on only a couple paragraphs of allegations, do you?

If you want a reliable evaluation of your chances of succeeding, you'll need to consult with a local attorney.

Note that contractors in Washington are required to be bonded, and the only way under Washington law to make a bond claim is to sue.

 

[aircw2005]

Thanks for the replies. The real estate lawyer we hired seems to be inexperienced in this field, we are thinking of switching, but before then we want to have some professional advice in this filed.

The change was made by GC as he wanted to reduce the cost in backyard excavation on his side.