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Ask HN: Client said he'll sue me because of an unfinished project. Need advice

2 points by eumu 13y ago

Hi all, recently i got a freelance web project from my brother's friend, we didn't sign any contract, all domains and server are under my name. The project was nearly finished, unfortunately, we had big argument during the past few days, so i refused to continue the project and refunded the money. The fight was due to his bad manner and attitude which i couldn't stand no more. Now, the guy said he is going to sue me if i discontinue the project and shut down the server because i'll have ruined his ideas. I don't think i did anything wrong since i refunded the money, so will i get in trouble because of i shut down the server? Thanks in advance.

pwg 13y ago
First, I am not a lawyer, so..... 1) threats of a lawsuit are not a lawsuit; 1a) lots of "bullies" like to throw around the threat of a lawsuit in order to "get their way". But, as with most bullies, they are all bark and no bite; 2) no contract means nothing concrete to sue over. So any suit (were it to even be filed) would devolve into a he-said she-said argument match; 3) his "idea" is no more or less ruined than before you started. Delayed, yes, ruined, no; 4) did you refund "all" the money (and has he cashed the check [you did use a check, so you can prove he received the money, right?]); 4a) if you refunded less that the total (i.e., the cost of purchasing the servers/domains) then just also transfer the domains and the server over to him, (with a paper trail) and then you will have properly refunded everything; 4b) if you have in fact refunded every penny (and/or turned over the domain and server) he has even less legs to stand on as far as a suit.
- eumu 13y ago
  Actually all the transactions were in cash, he paid me in cash and i refund ALL in cash too. His idea was just about how the webpage layout should be, very standard layout, nothing more than that, and some ideas were just "borrowed" from some other websites. Thanks a lot for the replied.
  - mtdewcmu 13y ago
    One thing I've learned from Judge Judy is that you should document all of this and keep any evidence you might be able to use in your defense. For instance, you should have some proof that you refunded the money, if at all possible. It makes you look much better if you have documents and the other guy doesn't. And anything is often better than nothing.
27182818284 13y ago
Hi, First, don't panic. Second, lawyer up. This just means at least talking it over with a lawyer. That lawyer will probably advise you to wait until he makes a move. You need to lawyer up because even without a contract, certain states have case law that might be applicable. For example, there has been case law in my state where two people that talked about buying real estate, without a contract, eventually ran into a sticky situation like yours. Again, don't panic, it will probably be fine.
- eumu 13y ago
  It did make me panic and angry, yeah i shouldn't be panic. I'm just a fresh grad., don't have much saving for lawyer yet, so i'll wait and see. Thanks for the advice.
dragonwriter 13y ago
If someone is threatening to sue you and you need advice, the advice you need is probably from a lawyer. IANAL, but you may not be right to assume that just because you didn't sign a contract, you don't have a contract (signatures and writings are useful for contracts -- particularly as evidence of what was agreed to and that it was agreed to -- but they aren't generally necessary to form a contract), and even if you don't have a contract, there may be some other basis for a claim. OTOH, refunding what he paid may have done enough that there is nothing left for him to claim. But you'll get more concrete answers (well, presumably) from a lawyer.
- eumu 13y ago
  We didn't have any agreement at the beginning, just as simply as he paid me and then i started to work. Never mention anything about compensate whatsoever. Thanks for the advice.

2 points by eumu 13y ago

pwg 13y ago

First, I am not a lawyer, so..... 1) threats of a lawsuit are not a lawsuit; 1a) lots of "bullies" like to throw around the threat of a lawsuit in order to "get their way". But, as with most bullies, they are all bark and no bite; 2) no contract means nothing concrete to sue over. So any suit (were it to even be filed) would devolve into a he-said she-said argument match; 3) his "idea" is no more or less ruined than before you started. Delayed, yes, ruined, no; 4) did you refund "all" the money (and has he cashed the check [you did use a check, so you can prove he received the money, right?]); 4a) if you refunded less that the total (i.e., the cost of purchasing the servers/domains) then just also transfer the domains and the server over to him, (with a paper trail) and then you will have properly refunded everything; 4b) if you have in fact refunded every penny (and/or turned over the domain and server) he has even less legs to stand on as far as a suit.

eumu 13y ago
Actually all the transactions were in cash, he paid me in cash and i refund ALL in cash too. His idea was just about how the webpage layout should be, very standard layout, nothing more than that, and some ideas were just "borrowed" from some other websites. Thanks a lot for the replied.
- mtdewcmu 13y ago
  One thing I've learned from Judge Judy is that you should document all of this and keep any evidence you might be able to use in your defense. For instance, you should have some proof that you refunded the money, if at all possible. It makes you look much better if you have documents and the other guy doesn't. And anything is often better than nothing.

27182818284 13y ago

Hi, First, don't panic. Second, lawyer up. This just means at least talking it over with a lawyer. That lawyer will probably advise you to wait until he makes a move. You need to lawyer up because even without a contract, certain states have case law that might be applicable. For example, there has been case law in my state where two people that talked about buying real estate, without a contract, eventually ran into a sticky situation like yours. Again, don't panic, it will probably be fine.

eumu 13y ago
It did make me panic and angry, yeah i shouldn't be panic. I'm just a fresh grad., don't have much saving for lawyer yet, so i'll wait and see. Thanks for the advice.

dragonwriter 13y ago

If someone is threatening to sue you and you need advice, the advice you need is probably from a lawyer. IANAL, but you may not be right to assume that just because you didn't sign a contract, you don't have a contract (signatures and writings are useful for contracts -- particularly as evidence of what was agreed to and that it was agreed to -- but they aren't generally necessary to form a contract), and even if you don't have a contract, there may be some other basis for a claim. OTOH, refunding what he paid may have done enough that there is nothing left for him to claim. But you'll get more concrete answers (well, presumably) from a lawyer.

eumu 13y ago
We didn't have any agreement at the beginning, just as simply as he paid me and then i started to work. Never mention anything about compensate whatsoever. Thanks for the advice.