more tan likely he has the upper hand as he can bill you for reasonable industry standard labor based on time and material. Now, if has done shoddy work, that is another story..but by not showing up, profanity, etc etc he would probably win in a court of law the time and material that he has documented. On the other hand, you do not have to pay him anything, and it will be he who has to file a civil action against you. Without shoddy work, he will have the upper hand on this. Just my opinion ad have been in court on both sides of the fence in the last 16 years.

how would he document his time so that documentation is legally acceptable? how could he prove how much time he spent here?

Oh..I understand and am not being argumentative in anyway. I am just saying that if he goes in to court explaining how many sq ft, etc etc he has accomplished with an industry standard of what the labor should be he will have a good fighting chance. Of course, you would be trying to argue it away...but if he has laid 350 ft of wood and the industry stzndard is 3 bucks a foot lets say, plus extras that he has done ..he would be able to put a formula to that and come up with a believable figure..minus the deposit of course. Now if the deposit covers in reality what he has done..then he is paid and a judge, magistrate, or arbitrator should be able to see that. The right way on your behalf perhaps is to have two estimates done...One stating the labor if everything that was done is removed by you and started over and one if you had the balance of the project completed...the difference could be argued is what is owed. Now if he did some removal or prep work that the new estimate will benefit from, than he would be owed that also. Just some thoughts..and remember the laws just seem to favor the villains sometimes.

how would he document his time so that documentation is legally acceptable? how could he prove how much time he spent here?

i'm sorry. i didn't mean to post that twice.
i was confused about what you were saying, but now i get it. thanks. will get a couple of estimates that say how much i would normally pay for the work he has done so i have some leg to stand on. thanks and any more advice is welcome.

Also, take into consideration the guy's legal status as a business. Is he operating legally? Is he required to possess a Home Improvement Contractor's license for your particular municipality?

Verbal contracts can be upheld in certain instances, but with no written contract of any kind, except for your initial payment (deposit), my guess is you would have little to worry about from him. And, if he is operating an unlicensed business...well he's not going to want exposure of his illegitimate enterprise to officials, unless he's...well...stupid (?).

Good luck there.

Did he provide the materials, including the flooring? My concern would be that you would have a lien slapped on your home if he decides not to pay for the materials. We've been caught in that quandary before by an unlicensed contractor who got himself in a bind and never paid for our kitchen cabinets. I am now paranoid about that and make sure the contractor has paid for his materials, including a call to the supplier, paperwork, etc. Hopefully, you bought the high ticket items yourself.