Bennett v. Hayes
California Court of Appeal
53 Cal. App. 3d 700 (1975)
Hayes (defendant) brought his car to Bennett's (plaintiff) repair shop, and the two orally agreed on a $187 repair price; California law required repairmen to give customers a written cost estimate before starting work, but Bennett never provided one. Bennett later told Hayes additional repairs would cost $200 more, which Hayes verbally approved, but when the work was finished Bennett billed Hayes $500. Hayes refused to pay, and Bennett sued for breach of the oral contract. The trial court held the contract illegal and unenforceable because Bennett had violated the written-estimate statute, and Bennett appealed.
Whether a repair contract is illegal and unenforceable when the repairman failed to comply with a state statute requiring a written cost estimate before beginning work.