Accord and Satisfaction Actually Works

After a dispute arose between the owner of an apartment complex and the contractor hired to renovate it, the owner sent the contractor checks totaling more than $8,000 with a letter stating that it was “full and final payment” for all amounts owed. The contractor cashed the check, but subsequently filed a lien and sought to recover an additional $14,000 in unpaid invoices. The trial court granted judgment for the defendant, and the Court of Appeals affirmed. Although the contractor’s owner testified that he had not “knowingly and affirmatively” agree to an accord and satisfaction, the trial judge was entitled to disregard that evidence as not believable. Luckily, however, the apartment owner conceded that the $14,000 awarded on its own counterclaim was erroneous, and so the Court of Appeals vacated and rendered that portion of the judgment, with a remand for further consideration of the attendant attorney fees.

Contemporary Contractors v. Centerpoint Apt. Ltd., No. 05-13-00614-CV