Another question

Live in Texas. Bought cabinets for my kitchen from a retail company. They recommended several installers of which we chose one. He totally screwed up the job. Not only did not install the cabinets correctly, he did not follow the blue prints for the install and caused substantial cosmetic to the cabinets. When the cabinets did not fit, he just moved them around until they looked ok. Of course, he failed to allow enough space to install the dishwasher correctly. This was not noticeable without the dishwasher installed. Custom counter tops were made and installed. Now, in addition to all the damage to the cabinets themselves caused by his workers, there is no way to fix the dishwasher issue or repair some of the damage without removing the counter-tops. In order to fix the dishwasher issue, some of the cabinets will have to be replaced with new ones and a new counter-top will have to be fabricated and reinstalled.

Questions:
1. Does the cabinet manufacture have any legal responsibility for this FUBAR as we used their recommendation list to select an installer?
2. Can we make the installer pay for all the damages to the cabinets cause by his workers? Lawsuit if needed, but we still have not paid him in full for the work
3. Can we make the installer pay for the new counter-top as he did not follow the blue prints when installing the cabinets and did not leave enough space for the dishwasher? And the space requirement is spelled out in the dishwasher, which he provided, installation instructions. The 24" is also the industry norm. All full size dishwashers require the same exact space for instillation. So no excuse for an experienced contractor to make this mistake

What do you think?

And thanks

Yes, we will hire an attorney if needed, but floating the issue for reactions first.

Sorry for your headache .....What a cluster fuck. Maybe just maybe the installer carries E&O insurance (Errors and Omissions).

Will be interesting to see what the resident attorneys have to say.

I'm not even going to read this. It's too long. If you want to condense it by 75%, I'll answer a question or two.

Note: If a person can't summarize an issue, they don't really understand an issue.

Seller of cabinets recommend an installer.
Installer fucked it up,

Does seller have any legal exposure or responsibly to buyer because we relied upon sellers recommendation of an installer ?

Can we seek legal remedy from seller and /or installer for direct costs IE: replacement of Damaged cabinets and indirect costs IE: New countertops required due to fucked up install and removal and reinstall of replacement cabinets and countertops?

Seller of cabinets recommend an installer.
Installer fucked it up,

Does seller have any legal exposure or responsibly to buyer because we relied upon sellers recommendation of an installer ?

Can we seek legal remedy from seller and /or installer for direct costs IE: replacement of Damaged cabinets and indirect costs IE: New countertops required due to fucked up install and removal and reinstall of replacement cabinets and countertops? Originally Posted by oldbutstillgoing

First, the common law does not make a distinction between "direct" and "indirect" costs as you've labeled them. In general, both of these damage types would be considered economic damages (a type of compensatory damage), which are recoverable if an alleged tortfeasor is found liable for a tortious act.

If you're not sure which party of a list to sue, you file an interpleader to force them to litigate to find out who the winner is you get to sue. But in this case, we already know. See below.

Against the installer, this is a basic contract law claim. It's proper.

Against the manufacturer, you wouldn't be able to show intent, so intentional torts are all out. You probably wouldn't be able to show reasonable foreseeability (i.e., required to show duty) or breach under the Learned Hand test, so negligence is out. Unless the installer is an employee of the manufacturer, you wont be able to show Respondeat Superior. Product defect or breach of warranty requires injury or insufficiency for a product's intended purpose, respectively, which you cannot show. I don't think you'd have a contract with the manufacturer regarding the installation, so nope. You can't really expect a favorable outcome from suing the manufacturer.

I didn't quite understand the fact pattern. But you may be able to sue the manufacturer to send the correct cabinets if they made the wrong cabinets for the blueprint you ordered. But I doubt you'd have to litigate this. A phone call should fix this.

It sounds like everything that went wrong was at the installation, not the manufacture.

So to answer your question in the first post:
1. No.
2. Yes.
3. So you want him to pay for the countertops you've already bought. And new countertops for you? In short, you want to make a profit by him paying for both the old cabinets and new cabinets? No no no.

You're entitled to compensatory damages, but under Texas CPRC §41.003, it looks like you can't get exemplary/punitive damages. So no. He is only liable to fix his bad installation. So basically he pays for whatever he has to buy to fix the installation and pays for the shoddy work.

No, the counter top in question has to be replaced because of the faulty installation of the cabinets. The counter top was custom made to fit the cabinets but the error in installation was not discovered until after the counter top was fabricated and installed. If not for the contractor screwing up the installation, no new counter top would be needed. The counter top purchase and installation was not part of the contract with the cabinet installer

obsg:
Assuming you've already tried talking to the installer...

If the installer has no liquid assets, how much are you going to spend to sue, already knowing you will get zero?

Talk to a local atty in your town about this.

He has assets. Already working on an attorney of needed. Just thought I would throw it out here as we have some sharp people here

Did you call the manufacturer, and explain what happened?

If it is a medium sized company, they would likely make you whole. They hate bad publicity. Most have a "just make it go away" fund for exactly this sort of failure, particularly if there is an online review presence.

Large companies: not so much because they have better lawyers.

Kehaar