Ben Brewcat
02-24-2008, 06:07 PM
I understand all the caveats on contracts (no guarantee etc), but I think this'll be a good idea for me. It's mainly to get the removee and me on the same page, and to help me to not forget the big things to talk about.
Much of this is culled from other Beesource folk's offered versions with my gratitude. The rest I got from local advice and my own gut. It's a starting point. Thoughts?
Bee Removal Request and Agreement
Address of Bee Removal:
_________________________________________________
Service Agreement
I, [printed name]___________________________, am the owner of the property described above or their designee. I request that Mr. Rodman enter my property to attempt to remove honeybees and their colony. He will exercise reasonable care but I agree that he will not be liable for any loss or damage to person or property howsoever arising as a result of such entry and attempt. The bees and colony, once removed, will become his property. The repairs needed to my structures or landscape will be my total responsibility. The charge for Mr. Rodman’s services will be $_______/hour in quarter-hour increments.
I release Mr. Rodman from any liability pertaining to any damages caused by the extraction process or by the honeybees. I give permission to Mr. Rodman to take whatever action necessary to remove the bees and honeycomb.
I understand that after the removal some honeybees may remain at or return to the colony site. I request Mr. Rodman [check one] to___ to not___ treat the site with insecticide which may reduce (but not eliminate) the bees present after the removal. I understand that if I do not adequately seal the area after it is repaired, the site will be at risk of re-colonization by subsequent swarms, and that such re-colonization cannot be prevented during the course of Mr. Rodman’s removal and is not his responsibility.
HOLD HARMLESS AGREEMENT
I agree to notify neighbors and other affected persons of the presence of honeybees, and the hazards connected with honeybees and such removal. I am fully aware of the risks involved and hazards connected with honeybees, and such process required to remove them from the premises. I also understand and agree to hold harmless Mr. Rodman and those assisting with honeybee removal from any claims, suits, actions or causes of action arising out of any accident/incident or any damages that may occur in the process of removing the honeybees.
Signed,
______________________________
Date:___________________________
Chef Isaac
02-24-2008, 06:36 PM
Looks good to me. I am one of those believers that in this day and age, you need to have contracts/agreements so everyone iso n the same page. I tried the hand shake thing before and it all went south. :)
Looks good. I might consider taking out the insectaside part of it and when you do your extraction, maybe just spray bee go or bee quick in there.
Maybe also offer the service of coming back and removing the honeybees. Of course, for a small fee that is :).
Pete0
02-25-2008, 11:53 AM
This is what I have used in the past:
Bee Removal Order and Agreement
To: Peter Ostrowski
I,______________ , request that you enter my property to attempt to remove honey bees from __________________ . I understand that the location of the honeybee colony may be a distance from the entry point and the method of removal will be decided upon after locating the colony. You will be using power tools, vacuums, ladders and scaffolding to expose and remove the honeybee colony. Smoke and water spray will be used to calm the bees and repellant and soapy water spray will be used in the final stages to minimize the amount of stray bees. You will exercise reasonable care but I agree that you will not be liable for any loss or damage to property arising as a result of such entry and attempt. The bees, once removed, will become your property. The repairs needed to my structures or landscape will be my total responsibility. The charges for your services are estimated to be $__________ ($60/hour, estimate ____ hours of setup, removal and cleanup with an additional ______ hour/s for travel time and equipment rental), but may be more or less, depending on the degree of difficulty and/or time required to complete the job. In the event of any unforeseen circumstances where your plan for removal has to be greatly adjusted you will notify me before proceeding. You will make every effort to ensure that no live bees remain within the home and minimize the amount of stray bees outside the home. I understand that this may be impossible to accomplish and as long as all comb, wax and hive residue is removed from the wall space consider this agreement met.
Very similar to yours. I might steal some verbage from you for this upcoming season and you're welcome to use any of mine.
Pete0
Bena, VA
NeilV
02-25-2008, 08:27 PM
Once again, this is not legal advice. Moreover, on similar threads I have indicated that, in my opinion, most beekeepers are not likely to get sued for normal beekeeping activities or selling honey. (No promises on that one, of course.)
Doing cutouts is a whole different animal. When you start working on a house or building, you've got some real risk of some real exposure. The two obvious problems are that you could negligently or without negligence damage the property and get sued. Second, you are going to stir up some bees, leave them homeless and increase the risk of somebody getting stung. Finally, you have the risk that the little boogers will come back, and the property owner will think that you are still on the hook (and you may well be). Also, if you get sued, the expense of the suit will be a big problem.
You can't limit your liability to third persons who are not parties to the agreement. You can put a clause in there that the property owner will hold you harmless from 3rd party claims, but that is only as good as the ability collect from the homeowne, in the best case scenario.
Also, there is a certain percentage of the population that are kooks. Its a small percentage, but they are really the ones you have to worry about. If you show up and the property owner is an obvious nutcase, you can always decide not to do the job.
You may read this and think that it is way too doomsdayish. Please understand that if somebody sues you, there already is a problem. For example, in the somewhat far-fetched scenario that somebody gets stung after a cutout, has a reaction and goes to the ER, you would much rather have a contract that told the homeowner about all the risks in stark terms.
You may also think that nobody would sign a contract that contains provisions similar to those set forth below. I've never done this, so I don't really know myself. If people balk, I would have several strategies. First, I would just assure the people that you are competent/experienced, will use due care and will not use the contract as an excuse to be careless. For example, you can explain that your best source of business is referrals from satisfied customers. Second, I would actually have some customer referrals that I could give to the concerned customer. Third, I would be as careful as possible, since that is the best way to avoid a claim. Finally, I would explain that, to be economically feasible, you need to have protection for suits, given the nature of the work. If people won't agree to this stuff, even with some minor alteration, then I would walk. Those people are also potential nuts.
To tell you the truth, I'm not totally crazy about either one of the contracts set forth in this thread. I'm also not really crazy about the idea of drafting a whole contract on this subject that may get spread around the world and to all sorts of jurisdictions without all these caveats. Once again, this is not legal advice for you. I really recommend that people doing cutouts talk to a lawyer in their jurisdiction to look over. (I recommend this for the other contracts I have commented on also.)
To make matters worse, this is an area where having liability insurance is a good idea but where you can have some real coverage problems. Most standard commercial policies exclude coverage for "your work", "your product" and property damage to real property physically located where you are performing operations. In other words, you may have a policy but not have coverage for all potential damages.
So, really, go talk to a lawyer where you live. I mean it.
Subject to those significant caveats, I do have the following personal opinions about what a contract might say if I drafted one for myself. However, even I would need to do some legal research to make sure that there are no statutes that limit the ability of contractors to have waiver/hold harmless type provisions in such a contract:
1. Start out with words to the effect that "This document sets forth the agreement between (you), hereafter "Contractor" and ______________ "Customer" for the removal of honeybees or other insects from Customer's property located at ____________.
2. Then have a section that explains what you intend to do, and generally how you intend to do it. The contract should expressly give the Contractor discretion to decide the methods and materials that will be used to accomplish the work. (A combo of Ben and Pete's contracts would be a good start). You should cover whether you will use insecticide, and, if so, what you will use (and that's another source of potential liability I did not mention above.) Indicate whether you are responsible for repairs needed to put the house back together, or whether they have to hire somebody else. You should contain a provision that you do not cover the costs to repair existing property damage or conditions that are merely revealed by your work.
3. Include a provision regarding the price.
4. Include a section about who owns the bees when you are done.
5. Include a statement about whether you do or don't guarantee that the bees will not return. If you do provide some type of guarantee, explain exactly what they get if the bees come back (you do the work, not somebody else). If the guarantee is contingent on using insecticide, say so.
6. Include a detailed section about the risks associated with your work, including at least: damage to the house, exposure of hidden conditions in the property, damage to personal property in the house, bodily injury from stings from dislocated, homeless and/or angry bees. Explicitly advise that some people have allergic reactions to bee stings that result in serious bodily injury, including death. Explicitly state that some bees definitely will be dislocated and may enter the house. If you will use insecticide, include a warning that it could cause health risks or allergic reactions, to the extent that is theoretically possible.
7. Include a detailed statement that Customer expressly assumes all risks of property damage or bodily injury to Customer and all residents, occupants, guests and third persons as result of the completion of the work by Contractor, including for property damage and bodily injury caused in whole or in part by Contractor's negligence or gross negligence."
8. Include a detailed statement that Customer expressly waives any claims against Contractor for damage or bodily injury to customer and all residents, occupants, or guests of Customers on the property any persons whatsoever as result of the completion of the work by Contractor, including for property damage and bodily injury caused in whole or in part by Contractor's real or alleged negligence or gross negligence.
9. Include a statement that Customer agrees to indemnify and hold Contractor harmless, from all claims, including but not limited to claims for damages, attorney fees and costs, from any claims by Customer or third persons that arise from or relate to Contractor's performance of the work that is the subject of this contract, even if those claims arise in whole or in part from contractor's own real or alleged negligence or gross negligence.
10. Include a statement that, in the event that Contractor is required to bring a legal action to enforce any part of this agreement and prevails, Customer will pay Contractor's attorney fees and costs.
11. Include a statement that the contract sets forth the entire agreement of the parties, cannot be modified except in writing and that Customer has not relied on any other statements by Contractor in deciding to enter into the agreement.
12. If your state requires you to give advance notice of the right to file a lien for nonpayment (Oklahoma does for residential property), I would include the required notice.
13. Have a statment that "By providing my signatute below, Customer agrees to all of the foregoing terms of this Contract on behalf of him/her and as the authorized agent for all other persons residing at the affected property."
14. Signature line for the customer to sign and date it. If you are dealing with spouses, get both of them to sign
Of course, if you find a fairly normal looking/acting person who disagrees with one specific part that you can deal with on a case-by-case basis, you can strike out and hand write changes to the contract that both parties initial.
Also, don't use fine print. Don't put any parts on the back side of a document. Make it so that the property owner can't realisitically claim that he/she did not know what the contract said or meant.
Just my personal opinions.
Ben Brewcat
02-25-2008, 08:48 PM
Whoa, thanks!
You may read this and think that it is way too doomsdayish.
No, I get it. But I'm also a little loathe to thump a seven-page contract down on the hood of the truck and watch their face change. Say goodbye to the fun questions and maybe a glass of lemonade. I wish there was a way to do this that was simple and straightforward but still effective.
But I do get it, if you're going to use a contract, as in you think you might need it, it should actually be a contract.