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October 12, 2005
Oral agreement? It can cost you
Oral construction agreements are often too undefined to provide the important assurances that written contracts do.
By J. TODD HENRY
Oles Morrison Rinker & Baker
Henry
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"If it didn't get written down, it never happened." So goes an oft-repeated saying in the construction industry. Too many times in my years as a contractor, I did business on a handshake, and later regretted that I had. Then there were the times I was not diligent about documenting our work, which resulted in us not being paid what we probably should have.
Understanding those hard lessons, construction attorneys constantly remind contractors of the importance of two things: 1) clear agreements, made in writing; and 2) thorough project documentation.
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