A Dispute Between Neighbors Regarding Construction Expenses
Question
Greetings and blessings. Reuven lives on the 4th floor, the roof level. Shimon purchased the roof and built on it through Levi the contractor. During the construction, Reuven joined in to build an additional room for his home, beneath the area on which Shimon wanted to build, so that Reuven would pour a ceiling for that section.
At first, Reuven agreed with Levi that Levi would build the entire shell for him: the concrete pouring and the blocks. After some time, Reuven changed his mind about wanting Levi to build the blocks, because it was a relatively small quantity of blocks, but Levi demanded a high price as though it were an entire room, since the work was attached to Shimon’s construction. A nearby neighbor found another contractor who was willing to do the block work for a lower price, and Reuven wanted to work with him.
Reuven called Levi and told him that in the end he was not interested in having him build the blocks for him. Levi said that if the blocks had already arrived on site, the order could not be canceled, and if they had not arrived, it could be canceled. The next day it became clear that the blocks had still not arrived on site, but Levi claimed that they had already been loaded onto a truck during the night, and therefore it was impossible to cancel because it was difficult to lower them from the crane.
Reuven told Levi not to build in the meantime, because he wanted to ask a rabbi whether he was obligated to have the block work done with him. Before the rabbi’s answer was received, Levi built the blocks without asking Reuven again, and now he is demanding full payment from Reuven for the work.
In addition, Levi did not completely finish the work: blocks were missing in several places, and there were several errors relative to the plan. Reuven has already repaired the defects through another contractor who performed all the interior work for him, and the second contractor included the repair of the defects in the overall price of the work. Levi claims that if Reuven had informed him of the defects, he would have repaired them himself, and that even if the repair has already been done, Reuven was not charged much money for it.
The questions:
A. Is Reuven obligated to pay Levi the full price for the block wall, or since Levi built after Reuven asked him to wait and without explicit approval, is the ruling different?
B. How should the defects and repairs be priced?
At first, Reuven agreed with Levi that Levi would build the entire shell for him: the concrete pouring and the blocks. After some time, Reuven changed his mind about wanting Levi to build the blocks, because it was a relatively small quantity of blocks, but Levi demanded a high price as though it were an entire room, since the work was attached to Shimon’s construction. A nearby neighbor found another contractor who was willing to do the block work for a lower price, and Reuven wanted to work with him.
Reuven called Levi and told him that in the end he was not interested in having him build the blocks for him. Levi said that if the blocks had already arrived on site, the order could not be canceled, and if they had not arrived, it could be canceled. The next day it became clear that the blocks had still not arrived on site, but Levi claimed that they had already been loaded onto a truck during the night, and therefore it was impossible to cancel because it was difficult to lower them from the crane.
Reuven told Levi not to build in the meantime, because he wanted to ask a rabbi whether he was obligated to have the block work done with him. Before the rabbi’s answer was received, Levi built the blocks without asking Reuven again, and now he is demanding full payment from Reuven for the work.
In addition, Levi did not completely finish the work: blocks were missing in several places, and there were several errors relative to the plan. Reuven has already repaired the defects through another contractor who performed all the interior work for him, and the second contractor included the repair of the defects in the overall price of the work. Levi claims that if Reuven had informed him of the defects, he would have repaired them himself, and that even if the repair has already been done, Reuven was not charged much money for it.
The questions:
A. Is Reuven obligated to pay Levi the full price for the block wall, or since Levi built after Reuven asked him to wait and without explicit approval, is the ruling different?
B. How should the defects and repairs be priced?
Answer
Greetings and blessings
It is impossible to answer the question in this form.
There is no choice but to approach a dayan together and ask him with all the details. [You may also call the Beit Hora’ah line: 0733260800 and schedule a telephone hearing with both of you].
There are too many details here that require clarification. For example: when the notification of cancellation of the partnership regarding the blocks was given; what damages needed to be repaired; what Reuven currently gained from the construction; and many other details.
Comments
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