web design

Via Wikimedia Commons

(A version of this article previously appeared in the Valley Business Front.)

The CEO’s voice was controlled, but I could sense the panic underneath.  He was about to crack.  It sounded almost like he might even start crying.

“We have paid a total of more than one hundred thousand dollars for that web site over the years!” he said, his voice quavering with anger.  “And now the developers won’t even give us a copy of it.  I want you to sue them tomorrow.  I want justice!” he said.

“Whoa, whoa, OK, yes, justice, of course,” I said, “but before we start a lawsuit, let’s figure out what they’re thinking, from a legal perspective.  Do you have a written contract with this web site company?”

He did have a written contract.  He sent it to me.  It was about four pages long and mostly detailed all the various types of work that the developers were supposed to do on the web site.

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