Here's my situation. I wanted my bathroom remodeled and called a guy who was recommended to me to bid on the job. He was related to a friend, so I decided to have him bid on the job. He came and looked over the bathroom, took measurements, and a week later came back with a bid.
When he gave me the bid on a contractor's invoice (the kind you could buy at Office Max), his bid - which was never signed - was higher than I believed was necessary to complete the job, so I rejected it. I told him over the telephone that I could not accept his bid. He stated that he estimated very high and that the total would be "significantly less". I told him an amount that I wanted to pay for the work. He accepted that and began the work.
The second day into the work, I gave him a check for half of the amount of the total that I accepted so that he could purchase supplies. He also brought another worker with him. This worker was never mentioned anywhere in the original bid and I never agreed to hire him as well. I only agreed to hire one person, but no bid was ever signed by either the contractor or me.
There were several mistakes that were made by the contractor in the course of the work that caused delays and ultimately the work wasn't done to my specifications. When he was nearing the last day of working on the project, he left a note - which was his only form of communicating - that said to leave him a check for double the amount that we had agreed to. Assuming that he forgot that I gave him the original check, I sent him a check for the final half of our agreed upon amount, along with a letter stating my dissatisfaction and disappointment with the overall job that he did.
Over a week had passed sense I sent the check, and in checking my bank account, he had not cashed the check. Today, I received an avidavit from the Small Claims Court that stated that this guy is suing me for $1500 more than we agree to.
Since there was nothing signed, what legal basis does he have and do I have? Basically, it comes down to his word against mine. Also, the additional amount that he is suing me for is to pay for the labor of the other worker that helped him during the project. I believe that I have been very fair in the amount that I have paid him.
I appreciate any insight that can be given on this.