breach of contract

salimnina · 05-22-2009, 08:00 AM

Hi,
I was contacted by a so called Web design company, their work was rubbish and I had to involve my self at every stage, this company is not going to fulfill the complete project and they are just going to design what their own requirements, not mine... they listed what they will do for us and they expected us to just approve it. I told them in many occasions that this is not only that but there is more to what needs to be done, I gave them a copy of my own requirements in a separate sheet that they agreed.
before paying them I asked them to sign a clause which stipulates that they should design back end and front end system for our company, the clause also stipulates that the design would reflect the business functions over all, not per requirements. it was signed by one of their member who claimed to be the MD for the company.
My question is how does this look in court of law? and what are their chances to argue that they didn't have to design anything but what they will do for us. we will contact our solicitor very soon to sue them and we need to know what we should gather in terms of documentations and supporting evidence
thanks

corneo · 05-22-2009, 03:42 PM

You really should talk to an attorney on this matter.
I say this because not knowing what state/country you are in, these laws will very and this is a civil matter.
Not knowing how much you are asking the amount could be low enough for small claims court or high enough that this may need to go to full blown court.

Basically you have an agreement/contract between two people/companies and you feel the agreement is not fulfilled.

All you have to do is supply physical proof. (he said, she said will not work) You'll need signed contracts, canceled checks, records of phone conversations, certified copies of emails between you and them.
Show the site is not doing what your contract says it should be able to do.

Remember wording is very important. If you said "a front page" in the contract and you got a front page, the contract has been filed. If later in life you asked for a "flash front page" but wasn't put in to the contract you may be out of luck.

Like I said, you really need to talk to attorney. Any "tort" (lawsuit) attorney should be able to help you. Internet law attorney's can do the same but they will cost you more money.

Good luck.

vipdistinct · 05-22-2009, 10:50 PM

That's good advice corneo! Also you might want to see if there is still any way you could negotiate this with the web company before going through any legal stuff. If they are ethical enough they would at least give you some or all of your money back.

Aramis · 05-25-2009, 11:15 AM

also we would ask what your level of your qualifications are, and what they claim to be, because it could simply be a misunderstanding, for example you could be a ameatur web designer asking a pro to do somthing that is impossible to be done without access to your server etc, or unless you actually have one.

we would need much more detail to even see if you have actually be swindled or not, or if its been a misunderstanding or not

it can be a simple thing such as they where obligated to do certain aspects, and they felt they met those obligations

or your looking it from a web programmers point of view, while there looking it from a web designers point of view

however it is pretty clear that they are not professionals as one aspects you mentioned to the contract is one i would never agree to, in fact any sane person wont.

simply because if it fufills the functions and requirments then yes the job is done, however if you simply feel its not colourfull or pretty, they dont get paid ?

i would never sign it, as a persons love or distaste upon an apperance can not be proven or disproven, thus the contract would simply not be valid

do you have a list of websites they have done that we can view the source code to and judge ourselves,

Abbey1 · 06-05-2009, 03:05 AM

I agree, read the contract to make sure you understand the terms of the payments.

Also, if it is an error, then work with them to correct it - it will do you no good in court to not give them that chance.
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devsmith · 07-09-2009, 05:08 AM

Finally, any dispute resolution is likely specified in the contract. Since I am from near where apple's HQ is, I bet it says that any disputes are to be settled in Santa Clara County in California. Be prepared to file there.

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davidyxf · 09-07-2009, 11:54 PM

It seems like there is dispute in very kind of business.
I agree with

Quote:

All you have to do is supply physical proof. (he said, she said will not work) You'll need signed contracts, canceled checks, records of phone conversations, certified copies of emails between you and them.

from who sounds like an attorney

Aramis · 09-08-2009, 08:17 AM

it is pretty clear that they are not professionals as one aspects you mentioned to the contract is one i would never agree to, in fact any sane person wont.

simply because if it fufills the functions and requirments then yes the job is done, however if you simply feel its not colourfull or pretty, they dont get paid ?

i would never sign it, as a persons love or distaste upon an apperance can not be proven or disproven, thus the contract would simply not be valid

OFFMason · 09-11-2009, 07:49 PM

Okay, I am a law school student, and I must, as a matter of ethics, disclaim anything I say... so be forewarned that I offer no warranty or guarantee that my post is legally accurate in any circumstance.

This seems like a mixed question of agency and contractual aesthetics -- this may very well be a case of first impression.

As you are speaking about solicitors, I presume you are either in Britain or another English province or territory, so this ESPECIALLY is unlikely to help you.

It really comes down to the case law in your jurisdiction. This is likely a matter of common law (judge made law) as legislatures are too busy to make such minor league law.

The key question here is aesthetics. If the contract did not specify anything about the aesthetic direction/review process or if the aesthetic requirements are un-ascertainable or unreasonable the court will likely look to the industrial standard. Different courts look to this question in a variety of ways.

Natural Elements · 09-12-2009, 08:42 AM

Any contract should be reviewed by a lawyer before signing, that's the rule of thumb.

Only a lawyer can help you, and like Corneo said it depends of where you are, laws are differents.

Never ever sign a contract without your lawyer approval when a lot of money is involve!

kaeldaven · 09-13-2009, 02:30 PM

What seems obvious but for some reason isn't even listed here is the fact that you are (I presume) dealing with an Internet Based company. Let me ask you this: Is the company you are dealing with even located in the same country as yourself? If you live in say the United States and the company resides in India, I'm not sure you have any legal course. Not trying to be a jerk just wondering if this is a road block you may inevitably encounter.