Floors n' More, Inc, hires Gordon to renovate Floors n' Mores showroom. Gordon sub-mits plans that Floors n' More approves. Gordon completes the major recon-struction, paints the interior, and buys the fixtures and furnishings. Floors n' More rejects

Question

some of these items because they do not match the plans, and subsequently refuses to allow Gordon to finish the work or to col-lect payment. Could Gordon sue successfully for payment for the entire contract?

Answer 1

No, Gordon could not sue successfully for payment for the entire contract, but he could sue successfully to collect for the value of the work actually performed.
When the performance on a construction contract is substantial, the deviations are minor, and the failure to per-form completely is not willful (that is, the performance is in good faith), the party who substantially performed is entitled to collect payment for that performance. The amount of the payment is the contract price less the costs to make the performance complete. When the cost to complete the performance is high in relation to the contract price, the party is en-ti-tled to the contract price less the amount by which the object of the con-tract is diminished in value by the failure to completely perform.

In this problem, the "breach" may have been so minor that it was no breach at all, because Floors n' More was not denied the benefit of its bargain by Gordon's conduct. In that interpretation, Floors n' More rejected Gordon's good faith ten-der of complete performance, and this rejection would allow Gordon to col-lect payment for the work.