California - Lawsuits & Services

Question

If you do a service for someone without disclosing or discussing the price, and the customer doesn't pay, could you sue?

If someone asks for a service, let’s say an animation or along the lines of that, and then the person doing the service, whom has worked with the customer for an extended period of time and never had been asked about the price, does the work for the next 2 months, working on a completely original animation, then once the customer gets told about the initial asking price, then a lowered cheaper alternative, the customer denies to pay and doesn't want the product anymore, are there any grounds for a lawsuit?

Answer 1

If you do a service for someone without disclosing or discussing the price, and the customer doesn't pay, could you sue?

Generally, yes.

When someone performs services when the parties have a shared expectation that the person performing services will be paid by the person receiving services, but have not entered into a contract concerning the price to be paid, the person performing services has a claim in quantum meruit for the fair market value of their services that may be enforced in court.

This remedy can also apply when a contract between the parties fails or is void for some reason.

There are, however, some particular kinds of contracts in which recovery is only allowed is particular formalities or agreements are present.

If someone asks for a service, let’s say an animation or along the lines of that, and then the person doing the service, whom has worked with the customer for an extended period of time and never had been asked about the price, does the work for the next 2 months, working on a completely original animation, then once the customer gets told about the initial asking price, then a lowered cheaper alternative, the customer denies to pay and doesn't want the product anymore, are there any grounds for a lawsuit?

Factually, this would be a close case. It isn't really clear that there was authorization to go ahead with the work with an expectation of payment.

Answer 2

When services are offered on a more or less fixed price bases to the general public, then requesting the service means accepting the price.

For example, if one walks into a barber shop that has a list of posted prices, sits in a chair and says just "haircut please" then one is agreeing to pay the posted price for a haircut, just as if in a shop one says "one of those please" one is agreeing to pay the price on the price tag, absent a later objection before the item changes possession.

But in a more complex situation, where the service is in effect a custom one, then there needs to be a very clear indication that the service provider is to go ahead with the order. Of course, it is much better practice to include an explicit price in the spoken or written agreement. But if no price is mentioned but a clear order for the service is given, the provider is entitled to a fair market price.