More details to this question:
The client has paid the 50% upfront fee as detailed in the contract - which I am willing to refund. Project ended up having more revisions/work than originally intended. No deadline is detailed. If I refund her the 50% upfront fee, am I out of the contract? I am from Oregon and she is from California. She is threatening to take me to court, refund or not. Am I liable for anything?
1 ANSWER
Once you make a contract, you do not have the option of rescinding it just because it turned out not to be as favorable to you as you thought. Refusing to perform the work required by the contract is a breach, whether you offer a refund or not. If your customer suffers damages from your breach above the amount you refund (for example, if your client has to pay more to another business to do the work you contracted to perform, you could be liable for the difference.)
Mind you, I don't know the details of the negotiation, execution, or performance of the contract. I don't know why the work turned out to be more than you expected, whether it was because of a mutual mistake or your client defrauded you. I don't know whether your client will suffer any damages at all if you refund the money. In other words, there may be defenses available to you that I can't determine from your question. However, just deciding that too much work was involved and offering a refund does not avoid your contractual obligations.
Answered on Nov 22nd, 2013 at 12:43 PM