[bigchuck]

I am a handyman who does landscaping, lawnmower repairs, building maintenance and many other assorted services.

My good friend and neighbors who owned the home together were splitting up and she was moving out and then they were going to see the home. Well as it turns out she went and bought another home... and then she moved out leaving her boyfriend and co-owner the job of maimntaining and preparing the house for sale. This went on for several months and the house was eventually sold.

Well I agreed to get all the initial work done and only get small out of pocket payments for the work.. with te final payment coming at the closing of the house.

The house was sold and the net funds were put in escrow to be ultimately divided amongst the 2 owners and any outstanding debts.

I am owned approx $17,000 and have been waiting for several months and the following questions have come to mind...

1. Since it was the owner Charlie who made the arrangements with me, to do all the work, does he personally owe me the money or do they both owe me the money? I billed them both on the invoice as co-owners.

2. The house has been sold and Charlie has since moved out and the house is occupied by new owners. Now I am wondering if there is any problem getting paid, can I still file a lien
On the property... given the house is owned by new people? It was made known to there closing attornney that the money was owed.. and the other co-owner was not willing to OK it to be paid,, so the attorney did not pay it.

3. All of the Net Proceeds were put in escrow... and there is enough to pay my bill,, but I am wondering just what action I may take now,, to get this settled and me paid,


4, Also wondering what recourse I may have if I do not get paid... or paid in full?


I welcome any help on any of these 4 related questions.

[JudyKayTee]

I gather this was not a married couple so there is no presumption concerning joint debts.

You made arrangements to get the initial work done, get small payments, get the final payment on closing - who made that agreement with you? Girlfriend? Boyfriend? One cannot bind the other to a contract/agreement.

Without a presumption of joint/marital debts if your agreement was with Charlie, then he owes you the money. You could make an argument that the bills came in joint names, she should have known she was partially responsible, she should have notified you she was not responsible - but that makes the assumption that she ever saw the bills (having moved out) and that she was in agreement. The bill means nothing. If you owe me money and I bill you and your wife that does not change our original agreement. As I said, you can make the argument but I don't think you'll win.

You can also make the argument that she benefitted from your arrangement with Charlie (the house sold for more money) - but if she didn't agree I don't think that's a winning argument, either.

It sounds to me like the $17,000 should come out of Charlie's share.

It's too late to lien against the property - Charlie no longer owns it and the new people have nothing to do with your agreement with him. If I were the new people I wouldn't pay you, either - they didn't request the work and it's not their responsibility.

To get this settled and you paid - if the original couple is not willing to pay then you have to sue them. I see no way around it. Sue them both and see what the Court decides. I'd move fast before the escrow is distributed.

[bigchuck]

Something I should add... that made me feel OK with the agreement.. which is that there is a Partition Action... like a divorce but for non0married people who own property together and cannot agree on the details of selling and splitting up proceeds. It was my undersdtanding the judge would pay all reasonable selling related costs and fix ups to make the property saleable (first) as the funds were for benefit of both,,

Does this help?

[excon]

Hello big:

Seems to me that you should go to the escrow company who is holding your money and ask them why you haven't been paid. They'll tell you why. Once you know, then you can do something about it.

excon

[JudyKayTee]

Something I should add... that made me feel OK with the agreement.. which is that there is a Partition Action ... like a divorce but for non0married people who own property together and cannot agree on the details of selling and splitting up proceeds. It was my undersdtanding the judge would pay all reasonable selling related costs and fix ups to make the property saleable (first) as the funds were for benefit of both,,,,

Does this help?

Yes, it makes a difference - Excon is on the money here - go to the escrow company (or Attorney, I don't know what State you're in) and make certain that your bill HAS been submitted, see if there is a problem -

Right, this makes all the difference in the World and protects you. Her could be a little argument over the word "reasonable" (I hate it when a contract/agreement/order is not more specific) but I think you're in good shape here.

[bigchuck]

If you are still following this topic I wanted to update on the new developments. Charlie's attorney was chosen to be the escrow agent for the escrow funds... they were approx $65,000. The co-owner of the home and her attorney agreed that he hold the money in escrow for the 2 lawyers to later negotiate how those funds were to be allocated between the two owners.

Yes the closing agent and the two attorneys were well aware of my bill... as Charlie actually submitted it a day or two before the closing to his attorney who was a the closing. He faxed the invoice to the other owner... and the other communicated back to Charlie's atty on the early morning of the closing that her client was not in agreement to pay the invoice as she did not actually agree to the work being done... although it was all documented and known by her client that the work was being done... to enhance the property for sale...

It worked and the house was sold several weeks later...

Now the bad news... Charlie's attorney... 33 years in practice... actually stole the money and used it to put off a foreclosure on his own home... All money is gone and he is now suspended from practicing law... was in the newspapers... and he will be brought up on charges...

There is a client recovery fund in RI but the solvency of the fund is in question and the amt stolen exceeds the level of claim that could be placed.

So where does this leave me... the bill is known that I am owed $17K... The co-owner is now suggesting that the work and invoice was just a way for Charlie to get more money... untrue.

Is both Charlie and the co-owner still liable for my unpaid invoice.. although the net proceeds have been stolen?

Just because they $$$ was stolen... does not seem like that should negate the debt they have to me...

It was she who refused to pay any part of it... and the closing agent agreed to just leaver it in the net proceeds and turned the net proceeds over to Charlie's attorney... the designated escrow agent..

The check was made out to both names... meaning Charlie and Barbara...

I am not sure how the money was disbursed... assuming it was deposited into his client account... and then subsequently disbursed from that account in his name...

Any thoughts as to what rights I have and how I should proceed to get my payment of $17,000.

[twinkiedooter]

Charlie still owes the money regardless if the attorney ran off with it or not. That is irrelevant. The debt has not been satisfied.

[bigchuck]

Thanks for the reply... As I mentioned Charlie is my good friend... and he himself has lost all the money along with his partner who owned the property with him.

I am not a lawyer obviously and although I am looking to be paid and I am not worried in the long term as I know if it had to come down to Charlie paying somehow... he would... He has actually paid me some along the way as he does feel responsible...

But my curiosity is that based on numerous conversations on this overall topic ( topic meaning "The Partition Action" where his partner whom he owned the house equally with... sued him to basically get the court to order the house sold... which he agreed to do.)

Just as a point of reference his partner decided to stop living there willingly, where they both operated a business there... one business was his partner saw clients there being a psychotherapist... and he is was retired from the corporate world... having become an expert in Internet MArketing... where he had his partner as a client and spent many months in assisting her writing a book and self publishing it, developing marketing programs and web site etc... when his partner decided to secretively as it turns out... went and bought another home elsewhere... )

She did then file the Partition Action to get the house sold... and he stayed in the house... having no where else to go so suddenly... and he agreed to serve as the one to do all and everything necessary including selecting a realtor and being the main one to stage the house for selling including all the maintenance and prep work suggested by the realtor... to make the house and extensive grounds manicured to maximize the chances of sale in a most difficult market.

I am still much in touch with Charlie and actually appeared in court a couple of times as his friend and just observed.

I know at some point there has to be "an accounting' to the court of any money issues between them including money spent on the house and any other money issues they may have relasting to ownership and overall maintenance to the jointly owned property.

It seems to me that my debt should be considered part of the house investment like all other investments and maintenance they did in the past... I say that because I did work for them in the past... and I billed them both...

From my perspective this was no different... Charlie was always the one who made the arrangements with me... and I sent the bill to them both...

It seems to me that my knowing the work was legit and I did the needed repairs... that his partner is simply trying to get out of paying anything towards it...

It still was still owned by them both... and I also was in contact with the realtor and she knew all the work being done... and the realtor was also in touch with Charlie partner... as they were both on the listing agreement.

I would appreciate your commenting on these issues... as I like what you said by Charlie being responsible... meaning it is good for me... but somehow I think she has a legal responsibility in the matter overall.

Yes Charlie made the arrangements... but he did not have a pool put in or some ridiculous work done... it was all work relating to sprucing up the house and grounds and making the house marketable.

Thoughts?

Thank you.