​We’re small business but a multi millionaire wants to sue us

Basically, we did a service for this person on his property more than once. We are a pressure wash business, and he has three houses: a main house, a ranch house, and a guest house. We completed work on the ranch house and the guest house, and the last one was the main house. We told him that we would be doing a house wash on his main house with 300 psi. However, when we started, water began to pour into his garage, which is underneath the porch we cleaned. We had a verbal agreement that we could clean the porch since there was a gutter line underneath.

When the damage happened, he went underneath cut it and started to take pictures and videos of the damage. He did not mention anything about us paying for the damage and even shook my brother’s hand, thanking him for the hard work. We also worked for another three days on his property, and he never mentioned that the damage needed to be covered. We sent him the invoice for the work, and after a month, he had not viewed it. We reminded him through a message that we had sent the invoice, and he asked about the $500 extra pay, which he had forgotten to add to our service. He also asked about what to do with the damage.

We basically tried to file a claim with the insurance in August regarding what happened. They tried to message him and mail papers since November, and it took him until February to respond to the claim. Unfortunately, the claim was not covered because he was trying to get a very expensive contractor, and the coverage didn’t apply.

He sent us an email about releasing our insurance policy, but the adjuster told us not to do it. Since we declined the request, he asked us what the plan was. We informed him that we could cover the damage with our licensed and insured handyman, but he did not reply for 3 weeks. After sending him another email and receiving no reply, we sent a certified email about covering the damage. He then sent us this message

I received your certified letter with this same request.

Who is your handyman, what is their company name and license number?

I probably will not agree to have them make any repairs, because we completed a high end remodel of our home in 2022 using a licensed home builder. Therefore, only a builder with experience completing high end work will qualify to make the repairs. You are welcome to send someone over to bid on the repairs, but I won’t agree to it unless they are a licensed contractor that does high quality work.

Additionally, You had told me that you were licensed and insured, however, your insurance company stated otherwise. They specifically stated that “there is no coverage under the insured’s policy for this loss” The letter is attached. Since you refused to send me a copy of your insurance policy this has made me question your honesty in this situation.

In any case, you are still responsible for the damages that you caused. I am attaching the bid for repairing the damage, showing that you owe us $10,806.28. As you can see below and attached, I have reduced the amount that you owe by your open invoices. The cost of repairs is $10,806.28. Your invoices total $4,886.25. I have subtracted that from the cost of the repairs and now the total amount that you owe us is $5,920.03

Please let me know when I can expect to receive payment for this. If you don’t plan on paying for this, let me know so I can plan accordingly.

As a side note, you presented yourself as an expert in your field and you showed up with a nice truck and professional equipment. You also claimed to be licensed and insured. Obviously I was disappointed by the extensive damage you caused to my home and the subsequent lack of insurance coverage. The right thing to do is take responsibility for your actions and pay for the damage.

Reconciliation of Invoices and Damages Cost to Repair for Water Damage $ (10,806.28) Invoice # 130 $ 923.00 Invoice #129 $ 1,817.25 Invoice # 128 $ 2,146.00 Amount Due: $ (5,920.03)

This is what we told him

Sorry for the delayed response; we’ve been very busy. You mentioned that our services are expensive, and unfortunately, the bid you sent us for the repair is not within our budget. We will provide multiple bids with different options so that we can proceed with the necessary repairs

we tried to report it to mediation so that we don’t have to go to court, and the helper told us that he was arrogant. He’s been to court more than once and is an expert at it.

We received an email today with his response. damages, I have to consider my options, including taking you to court in a lawsuit and making a complaint against your License with the county. It is very disappointing to me that you are not willing to fix the damage you caused. In any case, we will not be paying your invoices, as they only cover a fraction of the amounts that you owe us. My recommendation for you is to make an offer of how much you are willing to pay. I would consider putting this behind us if you make a decent offer