Fire a Home improvement contractor legally

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Hello,

I'm in the process of first rental property rehab, so far iv been lucky to find great contractors at the property, except for one bad apple.

Hired a licensed, insured contractor (HIC license)for rental property rehab.

. Made 50 %dpt. After finishing 50 %work, he has disappeared for a week , not answering calls and now refuses to work. Contract completion date was 2.29 and work is far from done as of 3.10. Debris lying everywhrere in house. He breached both written and verbal time agreements.I also gave him a chance to correct his errors yesterday and finish work but he refuses to do so.

(I'm not sure why he's doing his?. Probably he got mad because I called and yelled at him for not showing up to work for a week.)

Contract exerpt 

"

B. Owner's Termination. Owner may, on fifteen (15) days’ notice to Contractor, terminate this Agreement before the completion of the Work, and without prejudice to any other remedy Owner may have when Contractor defaults in the performance of any provision of this Agreement, or fails to carry out performance of the Work in accordance with the provisions of the Contract Documents. If the unpaid balance on the Contract Price at the time of the termination exceeds the expense of finishing the Work, Owner shall pay such excess to Contractor."

1. Can I legally fire him for material breach of contract. 

2. I don't think I owe him any more money as he breached he contract. Thr cost to finish work will exceed his unpaid balance 

3. Can he still file a mechanics lean?

any other options?

Thank you.

[Mike McCarthy]

@Ani Kap if it were me, I’d fire him via phone and letter. State that you feel the work is 50% complete and you’ve paid him $$ or 50% of the total, so you’re square. Thank you and move on.

He can always file a lien, but you now have documentation as to what happened. I’d also take pictures before moving forward, just in case.

Most contractors aren’t out to get you, they get overwhelmed and take on more work than they can handle. He might just be happy to not have to continue. :)