Contracts

My question is 'Can I get a landscape company come out and fix the problem with the standing water and have the seller billed for it?' Details that lead to the question. I bought a house last October 2009. During the property inspection by a reputable company they found that in the back yard the landscape is such that when it rains it has standing water. The seller agreed to have this fixed so that the water would run off properly. He did come out and put down a small amount of dirt, seed and covered with straw. It did not work. He has been out since that time and we discussed it again and I asked if he could put in a French drain which would have fixed the problem but he said that he would not go to that expense but would dig a ditch and let it run out that way. Over the last couple of months I have been contacting the seller and he keeps telling me I will try to get out there by the next week. To this day he has not come back to fix the problem. On 10/17/2010 I left a message on his cell phone that I was going to contact a landscape company to come out and provide me with an estimate on what it would take to fix my problem. As of today, 10/19/2010 I have not heard from him. I feel that he is trying to get out of his obligation since the warranty has expired but he has been aware of this problem before I moved into the house in October 1, 2009.

I signed a contract for one year with a real estate company for buying a property. The contract has a clause that either party can terminate the contract with 30 day prior written notice to the company's address or to addresses which either party directs the other to send such notice. Since the time of signing the contract, all our correspondences have been via emails. Recently we have been unhappy with the services provided by the agents of this company, with whom we signed the contract. As a result we recently decided to terminate the contract. We spoke to the agents about it. The agents were unhappy about it, but expressed willingness to terminate the contract, with the agreement that they will receive commission on any property that they had indicated via email or otherwise. I prepared a word document for immediate termination of the contract as they agreed to it verbally. I included in the word document all the property listings that they had sent via email, agreeing that a commission is due to them if any of these properties are selected by us for a purchase. I sent this word document via email and requested them to sign it allowing to immediately terminate the contract. The agents responded via email stating that they agree to release us from the responsibility of our original agreement effective the date I specified in the document, as per the 30 day termination clause. However, they were not willing to sign the termination agreement without counsel review, which they said they were not willing to spend their money on as they are certain that the project holds no possibility for recouping compensation for their time and initial costs. I am seeking your counsel to answer these questions: Is an email notice to terminate an agreement valid according to Colorado law or does it have to be a written notice sent via US mail? Assuming an email termination is valid, since the agents of the company agreed via email to release us from the agreement effective the date they received the email, but were not willing to sign it, are we still bound to wait for 30 days from the date we gave email notice before engaging with another buyer's realtor? Assuming that we are still bound for 30 days, if we were to see properties on our own during these 30 days, would we still owe a commission to these agents if we were to purchase one of these properties during these 30 days or even after the 30 days? Thank you!

Parents of my school were asked by the district to participate in a contest. We won that contest and the prize was a 4100 k fitness facility. The superintendent gave the prize to another school without consulting stake-holding participants (parents). He later claimed the authority to do so. However stake-holders (parents) were not informed of that authority or the possibility of the prize can be given away at any time. Then the Superintendent misled the public, media and sponsors into believing the stakeholders were behind his giving away the prize to another school. Does he have a legal excuse to breach the contract if his power to do so wasn't divulged when the parents were originally solicited to compete for the prize?

In 2007 I interviewed 20 people for my master's thesis. They signed consent forms at the time. I made the mistake of giving them the option to edit the transcribed interviews for facts which they all did. The thesis was duly published. Now I would like to publish some of the interviews in other venues. Do I need their permission?

I am looking for a law term used when the mistake of one party (insurance company) causes another party, who has acted in good faith the decision, a financial burden. Scenario - The insurance co paid $8000.00 on a $13000.00 hospital bill. The hospital agreed to accept what the ins. co. paid. The payment was forwarded to the hospital. Nine months later the ins co sends notification they over paid and want a refund of $3800.00. The hospital feels the payment was fair and does not feel they owe a refund. Please advise on the insureds options if any.