You are here: / / DEFENDANTS REPUDIATED THE HOME-RENOVATION CONTRACT WHEN THEY SUBMITTED...

DEFENDANTS REPUDIATED THE HOME-RENOVATION CONTRACT WHEN THEY SUBMITTED A PROPOSED CHANGE ORDER REQUESTING ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS AND THREATENED TO STOP WORK IF PLAINTIFFS DID NOT AGREE; THE REPUDIATION ENTITLED PLAINTIFFS TO DAMAGES FOR TOTAL BREACH (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendants (Star) repudiated the home-renovation contract when they submitted a proposed change order and threatened to stop work unless paid in accordance with the change order. The repudiation entitled plaintiffs to damages for a total breach:

On January 14, 2022, Star sent plaintiffs a proposed “Change Order 11,” which sought payment of $117,200 for overhead allegedly incurred between September and December 2021 and additional monthly payments of $29,300 starting in January 2022 through the project’s conclusion. Plaintiffs refused to approve Change Order 11 and, by January 24, 2022, Star substantially ceased performing on the project. * * *

Plaintiffs are entitled to summary judgment on their breach of contract claim because they proved as a matter of law that defendants repudiated the contract. “[W]hen a party repudiates contractual duties prior to the time designated for performance and before all of the consideration has been fulfilled, the repudiation entitles the nonrepudiating party to claim damages for total breach” … . Here, the record establishes that defendants repudiated the contract by issuing a change order requesting additional payments followed by a threat to not return to the job unless plaintiffs agreed to pay the initial amount demanded, which threat was fulfilled when they abandoned the project … . Ho v Star Contrs., Inc., 2026 NY Slip Op 05908, First Dept 10-13-26

Practice Point: Here the defendants, by demanding more payments and threatening to stop work if their demands were not met, repudiated the home-renovation contract entitling plaintiffs to damages for total breach.

 

You might also like
THE ORDER IMPLEMENTING THE PLAINTIFFS’ PLAN FOR THE SEALING OF NYPD’S RECORDS OF FAVORABLY TERMINATED CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS AMOUNTED TO A PERMANENT INJUNCTION WITHOUT A DETERMINATION ON THE MERITS; MATTER REMITTED (FIRST DEPT).
REVOCATION OF PETITIONER’S DRIVER’S LICENSE, BASED UPON A 1995 DEFAULT CONVICTION OF WHICH PETITIONER WAS APPARENTLY UNAWARE, WAS ARBITRARY AND CAPRICIOUS (FIRST DEPT).
Property Owner Responsible for Defect in Sidewalk that Did Not Directly “Abut” Owner’s Property (Liability Based On New York City Ordinance)
THE OUT-OF-POSSESSION LANDLORD IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE DEMONSTRATED (1) THE LEASE DID NOT REQUIRE IT TO MAINTAIN A DRAIN WHICH PERIODICALLY BECAME CLOGGED CAUSING GARBAGE TO FLOAT TO THE SIDEWALK, AND (2) IT DID NOT HAVE ACTUAL OR CONSTRUCTIVE NOTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF THE GARBAGE ON THE SIDEWALK WHICH ALLEGEDLY CAUSED PLAINTIFF’S SLIP AND FALL (FIRST DEPT). ​
Shareholders’ Requests for Documents for Investigation of Possible Wrongdoing by Corporation Were Facially Legitimate Under the Business Corporation Law (BCL) and Common Law–No Need for Shareholders to Bring a Shareholders’ Derivative Action to Procure the Documents
ALTHOUGH PLAINTIFF’S LANYARD WAS UNHOOKED AT THE TIME HE FELL, THERE WAS A QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER THE SCAFFOLD PROVIDED A PROPER WAY TO TIE OFF THE LANYARD 1ST DEPT.
THE APPELLATE COURTS HAVE THE “INTEREST OF JUSTICE” POWER TO REDUCE AN OTHERWISE LEGAL AND APPROPRIATE SENTENCE WHEN THE DEFENDANT IS SERIOUSLY MENTALLY ILL; HERE THE MAJORITY CHOSE NOT TO REDUCE THE SENTENCE; A STRONG TWO-JUSTICE DISSENT ARGUED FOR A REDUCTION (FIRST DEPT).
Defendant Entitled to Suppression Hearing Where People Provided No Information About How Defendant Came to the Attention of Law Enforcement Personnel

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

WHETHER PLAINTIFF FELL FROM THE SIXTH STEP OF AN UNSECURED A-FRAME LADDER OR... PLAINTIFF’S HUSBAND ALLEGEDLY BECAME INTOXICATED AT DEFENDANT’S...