[ramonesfreak]

ive painted alot of houses...$18K for 3 months? i wasted alot of money going to law school. anyway, the only way your gonna get your money 'possibly' is to sue.

understand this...if you sue, you might find an attorney to work on a contingency fee basis which means you pay nothing (except expenses) to the attorney unless you win.

However, he the defendant, will have to pay an attorney cash up front as a retainer, and more as the case progresses in order to defend himself. if your case is strong, this may motivate him to offer you something to settle the issue.

Whether the Statute of Frauds defense applies, and whether or not you can beat that defense, I dont know as i am not a contract attorney. my gut feeling is that your full performance of the work and additional purchases of supplies and payroll would overcome any Statute of Frauds defense. Any decent attorney should offer you a free consultation.

even a simple one page contract will save you alot of headaches in the future...if you get around to drafting one yourself, i would be happy to look it over for you anytime, no charge.

good luck