You'll probably think I'm joking when I explain to you the situation, but someone, albeit a psychopath, has decided to sue me for wages he would have earned if he didn't quit. (Added to clarify: he did file suit and there IS a court date set).
This sitter met with me twice to see the dogs and get instructions to prepare for a week long house sitting gig. Before that stated, I hired him for an afternoon to further get to know the dogs while I was out of the house (at an agreed amount). This sitting gig happened a few days before a week-long sit was booked. Between this sit and the weeklong set, there was no communication between us other than seeing if he may be available for a future sit, a month away (if all went well).
After I got on the plane, he texted me that he wanted to "real quick, can you confirm the pay scale " for pet sitting duties, which felt concerning, as that was something that was already confirmed in person and via text. I felt really uneasy and vulnerable, as I got this message as my flight was taking off, heading 1000 miles away on a very early morning flight. I was alarmed because he said he would not start services until I agreed to the terms, but he was already supposed to start within the hour, when I was in the air. I of course started to panic because thought we had agreed to pricing two weeks prior. After I landed, he had not arrived to my house yet. Panicked, I quickly agreed as I was super stressed by his sudden & weirdly timed tone shift and thought I was just "confirming", not changing the terms. I was stuck as I left the state with no one else to care for them. All my other sitters were out of town, hence why I hired him.
I went ahead and paid him for the afternoon sit that he did 2 days prior -- in good faith to assure him he'd get paid (as he seem agitated). He quickly wrote to me that it wasn't the correct amount that I sent. I was confused so I referred back to what he wrote as his new terms. I then realized that I had agreed to NEW AND MUCH HIGHER rates. I was under duress and wanted to appease the situation (and couldn't even fathom he'd ask for so much more once I was on a plane) so agreed and paid not realizing the audacity of such a pivot.
Original offer: $60 for 3 hours. His new rate: $80 per HOUR. So the agreed upon rate went from $60 total to a retroactive demand of $240 total for the afternoon sit (of course I had no idea I was agreeing to that, and gave no capacity to pay a sitter that much money!). So I told him that wasn't clear to me. He said that we should part ways. And within minutes he left the dogs alone with no care & no water. Time line: 8:30am text with "confirmation" of new terms. 10am I agree, after I land. 2pm I pay for past sit, clarification ensues. He leaves around 3pm.
Now he's suing me for the wages he demanded ($240-$60) plus about $2000, an amount made up on what he thinks I owe him for retracting work on him.
Seems like an open and shut case. He put me in a situation that seems like extortion, at minimum he placed me under duress and seems negligent of a dog since I had no backup situation for them in place. But yeah, he's suing me. I just want someone that has legal expertise to tell me what I need to prepare if anything. (Location: North Carolina)