The Kotary Coterie

I finally got my day in court this week and the judgement came in the mail today.  I was awarded half of what I asked for payment on a project I did last summer.  However, there was a counter claim filed against me.  The arbitrator is making me pay for someone else to complete a job from which I was fired.  If you include what I spent  (and still owe) to hire other people to work on this and other projects for this client, I have a net loss of  about $1200 for the priviledge of working for a disreputable client.

The moral of this story is: You must get everything in writing before you start a project.  You must have documentation that is legally binding if you want to try to collect anything from an employer who decides they don't have to pay you for your work. Implicit contracts are not legally binding.  However, what you write in the memo line on a check is admissible evidence.

May you never feel the rage I feel right now.

Kim