ContractGuard: Quick Signed Agreements for Freelance Creatives

Client agreed to pay hourly on a recorded call, then denied the whole agreement after 56 hours of work. $2,800 unpaid

Client agreed to pay hourly on a recorded call, then denied the whole agreement after 56 hours of work. $2,800 unpaid

Client agreed to pay hourly on a recorded call, then denied the whole agreement after 56 hours of work. $2,800 unpaid

Not a lawyer so don't rely on this, but a few things: (1) Others here can speak to how your being an Indian (and I assume, not U.S.) citizen impacts your legal ability to recover here. I'm not sure if it precludes it. (2) There shouldn't be "cross-border filing and service costs" -- you could just signup with a typical California e-filing service provider (there's a list on the Cal Superior Court website online) and the cost should be identical as if you were based in the U.S. If you're seeing "cross-border" services from certain companies, there may be some sort of scam industry going on to avoid (there's many scam industries taking advantage of people's lack of familiarity with international laws, this may be one of them, I can't say). In total, it should be under $100, or even under $50 in filing fees, plus $70\~200 in service fees to a process server. Either way, small claims may be tough because you'd have to physically "appear" -- although I would research online if remote appearance works for a party in small claims. (3) Small claims may be the only place you can realistically have a net recovery. Why? Because the amount is way to small to hire a lawyer to file a "limited civil action" (i.e., the next step up after small claims), and because without a written contract, there's no legal grounds to be able to recover your attorneys' fees incurred in the case. This is significant because, for example, if you had done $30k of work (i.e., an amount that may justify hiring a lawyer), and you fought it to trial, you'd either get $30k *but still have paid* *thousands to get there* in legal fees, or you'd get $30k *and* get some/most/all the fees you spent recovered. However, it's a dual-edged sword -- if you put those in your contracts, and *you* become the guy who breaches such a contract in the future, attorneys' fees provisions operate bilaterally, so *you* could be on the hook for the other sides' fees if they won. (4) If hypothetically you filed in small claims, could appear remotely, and won, then there's still the quesiton of wwhether the guy would actually send you the money, or if you'd have to force it from him. Normally if you "win", the court orders the other side to pay you $X, but the court doesn't actually enter his bank account and transfer $X to you - he has to on his own. If you have to force it, the usual procedure is to get a writ to have the sheriff start taking his things to hold for sale at auction, with you getting the proceeds (and the cost of doing so is added to what he'd owe). However, I do not know if your status as just someone in India, not America, may impact your ability to collect, if at all. At the very least, just be aware. Again, not a lawyer, so don't rely on any of this. Also, the above is my understanding of California law only. Separately, I'm curious if he knew *quantitatively* how many hours to expect, or if it was just couched in vague terms like "a lot." He's either boldly stiffing you, or possibly just genuinely upset. If so, then you may want to consider just offering to reduce the amount on account of misaligned expectations, even though you did need to work more hours than that to deliver the product.