can a suit be filed when an attempt to collect a "debt" was never made?

On 14 Nov 2013 my husband hired a drywall company to come to our home to give an estimate to repair 2 small holes in the drywall. The estimate given was for $350. My husband stated that was too high and was told if we paid in cash they would charge us $250. My husband signed the proposal / contract, but stated he needed to discuss with me. I said even $250 was too much considering the size of the repairs. For one repair they said they had to replace a 24 x 24 inch piece of drywall. The hole was only 7' x 2'. My husband contacted the company and stated the bid was too high. The contractor said that if we cancelled the "contract" we owed him 30% - $75.00. My husband stated we did not have a contract. No meeting of the minds. The house is in my name. We received a letter from an attorney dated 18 Nov 2013, (4 days later) stating we owed $262.50 since they had attempted on multiple occations to collect on their invoice. We never received an invoice. They have filed a civil suit