أسئلة وأجوبة
Refusal to pay for the job done
We are a software company who have signed a contract with a client. The contract expired in Nov. 2015. We continued to work with the client on the project. We received 5 payments out of 7 payments that were due. Each payment was linked to a milestone in the project. Now the client claims the software solution is not up to the quality they want and they want to sue us for damages.
In the contract, we have a clause that says they can sue for a maximum of 50% of the money they paid us. However, each of the 5 payments they made were linked to a milestone of the project contract and the payments that were made were approved by their managers who now claim that the software quality has an issue.
Are they entitled to sue for damages? How can we best protect ourselves?
Hi,
With software agreements, it is common for customers to swindle their way out of not making any more payments by claiming that the software is not fit for purpose. In your case, if the client believes that the software is not up to their standard, then they must prove it in court. The way this is normally done is that the client must apply to the court to appoint a technical expert to analyse the software, take witness statements from both sides and deliver a report to the court.
What is certain is that the client does not wish to fulfill the remaining payments. However, court cases are expensive so your client may just be doing this as a scare tactic so you do not go after them in court. The best way to protect yourself in the event the client files a court case is to employ a law firm to help you defend your case. However, at this moment there is not much more you can do except for to wait and see if the client will actually go ahead and file a case in court.
Feel free to get in touch with me on 050 6628972 if you would like a formal opinion on this matter.
Regards, Ahmed Odeh.
