Contract Law - Liable for Completion Costs?

[Donna Mollison]

Hi.
We are a concreting company and we quoted and won a project. However, we were unable to complete the job due to the employing company not paying on time, and not wanting to be stuck with chasing up final payments etc.
They are now getting the project completed by other companies (as we expected), and they are saying we are liable for the cost to get it completed! Can they do that under contract law?
I do not remember signing a contract but as I sign so many things, I can't remember. I went through paper work and I can't find a contract from them! Should I ask for the signed contract to be sent to me so I can look to see if it's in their policies?
Thank you.

 

[John R]

Hi Donna,
If you've exhaustively searched your records and are unable to locate any contracts related to the project, you may consider:

1. strategically replying to the project manager asking for a copy of the signed contract; and
2. for the project manager to identify the clause/s that they believe make your company liable for the completion costs.

If the completion costs that the project manager seeks are significant, you may want to engage a lawyer to assist you with your response.
Hope this helps. Please keep us updated with your progress.

 

[Rod]

Ditto John's reply.

You need the written contract as your starting point. Also make sure you have your records of late payments. Best get things organised and written down now if you feel there is a lot of money at risk, else you could find yourselves in court with no proof backing your side of the story. Also write up conversation/dates/times/location that substantiate your side of the dispute.

John, what is the legal position here of requesting a copy of the contract from the other party? are they obligated to provide a copy when there is a dispute?

 

[Owens Lawyers]

There is no legal obligation to proved a copy of a contract relied on in these types of disputes. However, it would make sense that if one party relies on a contractual right that they provide evidence of that right to the other party. It's in everyone's interests to avoid litigation unnecessarily.