I am being sued for 2592.00 from my electricaian in TX. I owe him 875.00 and am willing to pay upon the completion of the job, which has not been finished 100%. He is now saying that the work is finished, which it is not, and that I owe him an additional 300.00 for extra work performed that was not authorized by me. I have offered to pay him his original 875 and court filing fees with interest for 60 days, but he refused the offer. He now says that if I want to settle before court I need to pay him 1500. I want to know what I am responsible for paying him. I won't argue that he is owed nothing, and I am willing to pay him upon completion. By the way this charge is for balancing three ceiling fans and repairing an under cabinet light. The price alone is too high, but I just want this out of my hair. I don't want to get stuck though with an amount of money to pay beyond what was agreed upon. There was a verbal agreement for the 875.00 and not the second part. I said I would pay upon completion.

What you have to pay is dependent on what his fees are for the work. If you can prove the work was never completed, then you can argue against any interest. But you are probably going to need expert testimony to prove your claim.

Pay him for any work he has done that you approved of that you owe him and then let him take you to court for the outstanding balance he feels you owe.
Document everything from repairs, things not done, things done without authorization, what you paid him, EVERYTHING and make sure you itemize it all along with prices next to each that you agreed to.
Example
Something like
Cost of materials
Ceiling fan
Ceiling fan wiring
cost of labor
Wiring and installing ceiling fan
hours of working on each item
left undone

As Scott said an expert would help prove your case too,

He can sue you for what ever amount he wishes to.

Winning the judgment for that amount is another story.

Since you have noting in writing, it is going to be his word against yours, and the judge will have to decide who is most credible, and if the charges are fair.

Take any evidence you have to court, defend yourself as best you can, and hope for things to fall on your side.

Or, settle before court, if you feel he might be able to prevail.

Balancing ceiling fans should be included in installation. Was he authorized to install fans, and was he paid for that? If he is trying to charge you separately for balancing he is trying to get over on you.

Do you have anything in writing re: what he was originally authorized to do? What receipts have you been given by him thus far?

To win he will need to prove that he did the work in question.