Seems the truth tends to come out on this board- As a regular on this board and others for the past 2-3 years I tend to be amazed at the actual ratio of valid complaints.
I have empathy for any one who loses a family member, who has a family member who is ill, who is dealing with this lousy economy- but your post doesnt provide anything to support what you are saying-
How much money changed hands?
When was the contract agreed upon?
When did the owners get sick?
What communication was sent to customers?
What % completion is the project?
When should it be completed?
With personal issues that were not of the customers doing; was a refund offered?
bottom line is that a business run as a business has documentation and support to protect itself from litigation- lack of documentation tilts the scale to the complainant.
Is this board always the final word? Nope but it gets results.
So provide your documentation and prove the complainant wrong- pdfs of letters sent, copies of invoicing, there should be something especially from a business of 30 years. If you handled it by the book, this should be easy to clear, shouldn't it?
You are innocent until proven guilty, but accordingly the customer has the right to expect satisfaction, communication, value and product and does have the right to litigate.
So prove him wrong, add another positive to your business reputation and in doing so kill the thread- That should be pretty easy if everything is in order.
Scorp