Contract Dispute – Plumbing Contractor Abandoned The Job

Jurisdiction: New Jersey

July 2023: Purchased a generator

I purchased a portable generator. It’s one of those ones on wheels, not one of those permanently installed home standby generators. In the event of a power outage, I would wheel it out from the garage and connect it to my natural gas supply using a quick-connect connector.

The natural gas hose that came with the generator has a quick-connect connector for the generator side, but it has no connector (just bare threads) on the supply side. That supply side of the hose needs to be connected to my home’s outdoor natural gas supply line.

Early August 2023: Hired a Plumbing Contractor

I hired a plubming contractor to install a natural gas connection for the generator. I sent an email to the plubming contractor with all the details of the generator, and the natural gas hose that it came with, which has a quick-connect connector pre-installed on one end.

The owner replies with his estimated cost for the job and he says “We wouild ask you to provide the quick connection for the hose.” I didn’t know what to make of this. The hose that came with the generator does have a quick-connect connector on one end—the end which connects to the generator. The other end of the hose needs to be connected to the natural gas supply line—that is the job that I’m hiring them to do. I called their office to confirm, and the woman answering their phones confirms that it should not be a problem for them to supply the fitting to connect my hose to the natural gas supply.

It’s important to note: There is no formal contract for this work. Just the email communication with the owner, as described above.

Late August 2023: Installation Date

A few weeks later, their technician comes out to perform the installation. Before he begins, I show him all of my materials, and he also confirms that he should be able to get the fitting to connect my hose to the house’s gas supply line. He works for a few hours and makes a couple of trips to plubming supply stores. In the end, he installs onto my natural gas supply line a couple of pipes and valves, but no connection for the natural gas hose needed for my generator. He asks for payment. I refuse payment until the job is done.

The techician leaves. I email his boss, the owner. I inform him that I need the hose connected to the natural gas supply line, and if he cannot obtain the fitting, I’ll try to find it on Amazon. He replies with: “You may remember I asked you to get the fittings from the same place as the quick connect hose to ensure they fit and match up.”

The next day, I reply to him, apologize for the misunderstanding, and inform him that Amazon has sent the correct fitting needed to connect the hose. I ask to come out and complete the job. He ghosts me—no reply at all.

October 2023: Hired another company

After not hearing back from that first company for more than a month, I considered them to have abandoned the job and I hired another plumbing contractor to install the natural gas connection. They did the job perfectly-- they installed piping and a valve on the other side side of my gas meter, with the appropriate fitting to connect my natural gas hose. Note that that they did not touch the work done by the first contractor.

December 2023: Invoice Received From Contractor Who Abandoned the Job

More than FOUR MONTHS LATER, in late December 2023, he sends me an invoice for the full price of the installation. I send him an email and fax informing him that his invoice is incorrect and the job is incomplete.

January 2023: Threatens With Court

A few weeks later, in January 2024, his staff calls and leaves me a voicemail asking I want to schedule a time to complete the installation. I call and inform him that he abandoned the job and the piping he installed is of no use to me without any sort of connection to my natural gas hose. He threatens to take me to court.

May 2024: Summons to small claims court

I receive a summons to small claims court. He has claimed the full amount of labor and materials for the work done in August 2023--some piping/valves installed on my natural gas line. However, as I explained above, what he installed has plugs on the end and cannot be connected to my natural gas hose without additional work/fittings.

Questions:

1) Am I right in my position that I should not have to pay until the installation is complete? I hired this company to make a connection for my natural gas generator. What they installed so far is not useable by me for any purpose.

2) Shouldn’t the ambiguity in the owner’s email should be interpreted in my favor, based on Contra Proferentem?

3) On the day of the installation, the technician went out to the plumbing supply store to find the right fitting to connect the hose. Also, in Jan. 2024, they called and left a voicemail asking if I wanted to schedule a time to complete the installation. Aren’t these admissions by them that the installation is incomplete? Does that prove my case?

4) I have recordings of my interactions with the technician on the installation day and also recordings of my phone calls with the owner and his staff. These recordings were made by one-party consent. Can they be used as evidence?