Understanding basics of a letter of intent

摘要

Show me a letter of intent and I'll show you an invitation to a dispute-typically over unpaid work. A good example is a recent case involving an excavator. The GC directed the sub to start work before they had a contract signed. The sub performed under a letter of intent to enter a contract. The parties could never reach agreement on a written contract, the relationship deteriorated, and the GC decided to give the work to another subcontractor. But by that time the sub had already incurred significant mobilization costs, and had even performed some site work. The GC refused to pay, said there was no contact, and the sub was left wondering what to do with its loss.