Tom Sloper said:

Beosar said:
I suppose in that case it falls back to what is stated in the law of the country that applies here, which is btw. not US law.

Now the question arises, are you both in the same country? Does the contract specify what country's laws govern the contract?

No and yes.

Tom Sloper said:

Beosar said:
I am still obligated to work with him and pay him if he decided to work.

A lawyer might say differently, since the other guy isn't doing any work until he's paid.

I think we still have to lawfully terminate the contract. I suppose I can just do that because the artist breached it. Thankfully, there is a clause about termination in the contract.

He's making it a toxic workplace from the start. How productive will that be?

taby said:

He's making it a toxic workplace from the start. How productive will that be?

I thought about this, too. But I think I have no choice but to give him a chance to work on this - or I'll be in breach of the contract.

I have just sent him a notice and will have to wait 14 days.

Beosar said:
I disagree with that. It does not specify when I have to pay, just that I have to pay. The law would be useless if it was interpreted the way you said. Everyone specifies the amount you have to pay in a contract, so this law would not apply to any contract. That doesn't make any sense.

That cuts to the base of why it's a bad contract. Those things are supposed to be specified.

As it is right now, with what you've posted it looks like you're obligated to pay. Since the details were left unspecified they're fully entitled to demand payment in full before they begin work, and you're fully entitled to refuse until the work is complete. That's a dispute, and your dispute resolution process in the contract would say how to resolve it.

frob said:
As it is right now, with what you've posted it looks like you're obligated to pay. Since the details were left unspecified they're fully entitled to demand payment in full before they begin work, and you're fully entitled to refuse until the work is complete. That's a dispute, and your dispute resolution process in the contract would say how to resolve it.

That is why there is a law. That's what they are for. If something is not specified in a contract, the law applies. You don't have to specify in a contract that I'm not allowed to steal from you or must refrain from physical violence in case of a dispute because the law already regulates that part. Same with payment.

In fact, a law can even invalidate a contract. We've had a case where banks who were not allowed to raise their fees here in Germany, they had to pay them back, even though there was a contract. And that's just one example.

It may work differently in the US, but in a in country with working government, there are laws for everything. It genuinely works great in Germany and probably most of Europe.

Good luck in your dispute. I'm bowing out now, but really some of what you wrote above is legally questionable. You are assuming a meaning I've never actually seen with contracts, but sure, in your country some of those meanings could apply. They are elements normally specified in contracts, left unspecified in yours, and I suspect you made some incorrect assumptions but only lawyers are qualified to interpret that.

My advice remains unchanged: Get a lawyer. You really need one. You needed one before you executed the agreement, I suspect you now may be bound with something you're unhappy about.

Beosar said:
I think we still have to lawfully terminate the contract. I suppose I can just do that because the artist breached it. Thankfully, there is a clause about termination in the contract.

He doesn't need to have breached it. It's a services agreement, which can be terminated for convenience (unless the contract says otherwise of course). Just give notice that you're terminating the service. Typically he would be entitled to charge pro-rata for what he did do, but he has put in writing that he has not done any work yet.

You're welcome to post the termination provision.

It may work differently in the US, but in a in country with working government, there are laws for everything. It genuinely works great in Germany and probably most of Europe.

Um, no. If you have to fall back on statutory law to clarify something like payment, you've messed up.

frob said:
You are assuming a meaning I've never actually seen with contracts

You are assuming I am wrong because you have never seen that before? That is questionable.

There is actually the Uniform Commercial Code for the United States, which also specifies when payment is due. It does not apply to sales of intangible goods such as copyright, though, and I have no idea where to look for that law.

SloJoCro said:
He doesn't need to have breached it. It's a services agreement, which can be terminated for convenience (unless the contract says otherwise of course). Just give notice that you're terminating the service. Typically he would be entitled to charge pro-rata for what he did do, but he has put in writing that he has not done any work yet.

I would have to look up the law for that. The contract is not under German law, though.

SloJoCro said:
You're welcome to post the termination provision (German is fine).

Here you go:

21. Either party may terminate this Agreement immediately by email notice if:

22. The other party commits any breach or material breach of this Agreement, and the breach is not remediable;

23. the other party commits a breach or material breach of this Agreement, and the breach is remediable but the other party fails to remedy the breach within the period of 14 days following the giving of a written notice to the other party requiring the breach to be remedied; or

24. The other party persistently breaches this Agreement irrespective of whether such breaches collectively constitute a material breach.

SloJoCro said:
Um, no. If you have to fall back on statutory law to clarify something like payment, you've messed up.

Well, maybe. But the law still applies.

Usually payment would be due on delivery. It's not a “breach” for him to demand payment upfront though. But you can also simply refuse. If you don't feel comfortable proceeding with him you should make absolutely clear he should not start/continue work.

If you're going to do a fixed-price agreement like this, you need to be careful not just about when the payment is due but also what he actually needs to do to trigger the obligation. You don't want to be stuck paying him if he delivers complete crap. It seems like you used an agreement template that wasn't suited for fixed-price.