Your new client has just missed a
progress payment on his kitchen
remodel. The reasons are not entirely
clear to you, but you are not comfortable
incurring any additional expenses
until you get this straightened out. Your
next phone call is to your lawyer. Can
you stop work until the payment is
made?
The simple answer is yes. If your client
isn't paying according to the terms of
the contract, then the client has
breached the contract. Legally, that
releases you from the obligation to keep
working. But, unfortunately, there
remains the issue of why the client
withheld the payment in the first place.
Contract Language
The client may have the right to withhold
payment if the contractor
breached the