[WSBARP] Construction Contract Question

[Peter Crocker]

I'd think about the duty of good faith and fair dealing, for sure, because
the contractor had it in his power to control how much it cost. That being
said, I'd also want to be real sure that PC hadn't agreed to any changes,
that the scope as completed was consistent with the scope agreed-upon in
the contract, or that the PC hadn't created any conditions that led to cost
increases. If the cost increases were due to covid-related issues that OP
couldn't have known about when preparing the estimate, PC might have to be
willing to make certain allowances for cost increases, but 5x definitely
seems excessive.

Sincerely,
Peter

Law Office of Peter Crocker, PLLC
210 Polk St., Ste. 6A
Port Townsend, WA 98368
peter at petercrockerlaw.com
360-344-8474

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On Thu, Aug 12, 2021 at 9:47 AM Gabriel Dietz <gabrieldietz at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Yes, the contractor is licensed and bonded.
>
> Thank you,
>
>
> Gabriel A. Dietz
> Partner
>
> Hoerschelmann Dietz PLLC
> (206) 451-3859
>
> *gabe at hdpnw.com <gabe at hdpnw.com>*
>
> *www.hdpnw.com <http://www.hdpnw.com/>*
>
>
>
> On Thu, Aug 12, 2021 at 8:19 AM Kary Krismer <Krismer at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> Have you checked to see if the contractor is licensed and bonded.  Unless
>> something has changed since I stopped practicing, that's a very good
>> defense.
>>
>> Kary L. Krismer
>> 206 723-2148
>>
>> On 8/12/2021 7:45 AM, Gabriel Dietz wrote:
>>
>> Good Morning Listmates,
>>
>>
>> This is a somewhat new situation to me but may be routine practice for
>> some of you. Potential client, a single family residence owner, signed a
>> cost plus construction contract for a contractor to do a relatively small
>> job. The contract had an estimated price written in. Contractor's invoice
>> was five times the estimate. During the job there were some discussions
>> between contractor and PC about change in means but never any discussions
>> about an increase in price. What defenses, if any, does PC have?
>>
>> Thank you in advance,
>>
>>
>> Gabriel A. Dietz
>> Partner
>>
>> Hoerschelmann Dietz PLLC
>> (206) 451-3859
>>
>> *gabe at hdpnw.com <gabe at hdpnw.com>*
>>
>> *www.hdpnw.com <http://www.hdpnw.com/>*
>>
>>
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