How binding is a verbal contract in Atlanta, GA? legaladvice

Had a verbal agreement for a set fee of $3200 to get house ready for an Estate Sale, separate from the holding of the sale itself. This was to allow the worker and me to bypass tedious clockwatching for normal rate of $25/hr. Worker did not show up for the last 10 days before the sale because of back injury sustained at home that eventually resulted in surgery. Per agreement, I paid half of the amount within the first week.

Estate seller brought in "worker bees" to take over the set-up only 3 days before the sale because I contacted her to ask if anyone was planning to show up that day.

Instead of an orderly, well run Estate sale, they ran essentially a whole house garage sale because they didn't have time to price any but the biggest items in the house. Pricing of items would have been considered part of the sale itself, not part of the work agreement.

I maintain that worker did not fulfill the contract, and I refuse to pay the rest that is being demanded of me. Additionally, worker's spouse removed a refrigerator that we had discussed in brief, but not settled on a price. It was going to be purchased separately from the work agreement if sold. At the time, I was not in favor of selling it at all.

$1600/$25per hr = 64 hrs. Add in ~$200 for the newish fridge, and ~$75 for a box of items set aside and taken before the sale, and I feel compensation for 75hrs has been received. Based on generous recollection, I can only verify 60-80ish hours of work.

I am willing to pay up to the amount worked at normal rate, but I don't feel I am obligated to pay the remaining $1600 because the contract was not satisfactorily fulfilled, and I believe the actual Estate sale suffered a lot because of it. Not the least because this worker would have been a better seller (getting good prices instead of haggling and "losing") for us than the ones who were brought in to work the actual sale.

I will respond to requests for relevant info if I deem necessary, but will ignore most of those. I prefer helpful opinions and links to resources. The fact that I am seeking this on reddit tells you how frustrating this situation has become.

Submitted December 06, 2017 at 09:04PM by what_advice http://ift.tt/2iWyaIx legaladvice