need advise in Florida...breach of contract

[Figment_landscape]

I have a customer (commercial property) who hired me for lawn service. I have a written contract with them that was signed in August. I received a phone call from them today telling me they feel they are paying to much and decided to go with another company(they are starting tomorrow-which is my day to mow). I explained to them that in order to break the contract they have to give me a 30 day written notice before terminating service...this is stated in the contract they signed. I informed them that by not giving me a 30 day written notice they are breaching the contract, and they said no they were not because the contract is not legal. I asked them what they meant by not legal and they said in order for it to be legal it has to be notarized. What do they mean "notarized"??? My contract states "this agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Florida and constitutes the entire agreement betweeen the parties regarding it's subject matter." Also my contract states "By signing this contract both the Contractor and the Customer are stating they have fully read the above terms and conditions and agree to be bound by them." Now....isn't that a legal contract????
So who is right here and who is wrong??? If they are wrong, where online can I get information to prove to them they are breaching a "legal contract" that they signed with my company????

[Scott]

it's legal, also in the state of florida a handshake is legal and binding.

[Ric]

Figment

For $ 10.00 you can file in small claims court and win a judgment for 30 pay only. They own you only 30 pay because that is the stated cancellation period. They don't have to make you cut for that period of time but they do have to pay you for it. Send them a bill first, then when they don't pay, Take them to court. BTW since they did not cancel you before the first of the month you can also pro rate for monthly contract for 3 days as part of that suit. Florida Small claims is famous for ruling in favor of the lawn care contractor.

BTW I will be filing my first Small claims suit tomorrow myself for $ 1611 myself over a Hurricane Clean up bill. I send this customer a a final collection bill and today I received a letter from their lawyer telling me they didn't owe it because I damaged there irrigation when removing 5 Very tall palm trees. They also are claiming they had other expense repairing there yard equal to my bill. It will cost me a total of $ 10.00 to go to court. I am wondering how much it will cost them in legal fees to defend. At this point I am going to stand my ground and either collect it all including the $ 10.00 filing fee or nothing. I am sure they will counter sue and try to settle for a smaller amount of nothing at all. Knowing this PITA customer, I am sure they won't pay even if I get a judgment. Of course I will simply but a lean on the property and turn it over to a collection agent who will report it to all 3 credit Bureau. BTW these are wealth people and both husband and wife make big bucks. I am sure it will get real nasty before it is over. At this point I am happy to fight them because I know it will cost them more than if they paid the bill. I can get even so to speak Legally and will not resort to Roundup ballooning their yard. That would only get me in trouble that I really don't want of need. BTW an unpaid judgment will also go on there Credit Report. I believe the threat of a Bad Credit report is enough to make them cave in and pay. I also think as soon as they see the Lawyer will charge them more than what they owe they may have second thoughts.

[jgc8fan]

Ric... Apparently their lawyer is not too bright or just trying to scare you off... LOL If he knew Florida building laws (the "buyer beware" bit) it states that any damage to a customer's property or injuries to workers is completely the customer's responsibility.

Regardless of whether it was you that damaged the irrigation or not it is their problem not yours.

[Ric]

Ric... Apparently their lawyer is not too bright or just trying to scare you off... LOL If he knew Florida building laws (the "buyer beware" bit) it states that any damage to a customer's property or injuries to workers is completely the customer's responsibility.

Regardless of whether it was you that damaged the irrigation or not it is their problem not yours.

Jeff

It is not a matter of the lawyer not being bright, in fact he is a member of a very old and trusted Group of Crooks. His Client is in fact people of wealth and power. The wife is the real PITA and holds very powerful job with the county. I really don't want to say more about personal positions not that they would find it here.

Sure he is blowing smoke, and that what Lawyers are good at. Part of that smoke is there lawn was eaten by Chinch bugs. Guess what? They were only my mowing account and not my pesticide account, they had the same guy they have had for years. They are claiming it was my lawn crews job to tell them they had Chinch bugs. In the past I had approached them and told them they were not getting the best service and even point out insect damage as well as the lack of fertilization. However this out break of Chinch bugs I or my guys said nothing about. My take is it was not our responsibility to do so. Yes I had pointed out other problems in the past as part of my service and in an attempt to up sell them to my Pesticide service.


The Long an Short of the story is After receiving the letter from the lawyer I called him. Only getting a hold of his secretary I ask her to have him call me. I did tell her that I wanted to know if he would like to be severed also as the Attorney record with the small claims petition.

I have never been to small claims here in Florida. What I would like to believe is, it is the one level of court where the little man has the advantage over an attorney.

[Team Gopher]

Hi Figment_landscape,

Sorry about the problem you are having. Here is a quote from this site. I hope it is helpful.

Does a contract have to be notarized?

Typically no. A notary public (or simply "notary") provides an acknowledgment that the signature appearing on the document is that of the person whose signature it purports to be. There is a requirement that some documents be notarized, such as a real property deed. Unless specifically required by state or municipal law, a contract does not have to be acknowledged before a notary public.

[Scott]

Hey TG, nice link