Assignment- Case Jurisdiction

James lives in Maryland but runs his painting business out of Virginia. Stan lives in Virginia but works in Maryland. Stan has hired James to paint his house in Virginia. Stan feels that James has taken advantage of him in this business dealing. Stan gave James a down payment for this particular job, which is under contract. James promised to start the job as soon as he could. It has been 3 months and still no work has begun on Stan's house. Stan has called James many times to ask when the work will start. James replies, "I will start as soon as I can." Stan has come to you for some advice.

Write an essay discussing the issues that are involved in this situation. Develop an essay that describes the advice you would give Stan and support you advice with information from your current reading assignments.

Here are some other points you may wish to include in your essay:

Where is the legal jurisdiction if this case goes to court? Maryland, Virginia or Federal District Court? Please explain.
What would you suggest Stan do to handle the situation?
Would this case be handled in a traditional trial or would it best be settled in an alternative dispute resolution process?
Does this case fall under the Uniform Commercial Code? Why or why not?
Recommend some suggestions about service contract that could have helped Stan understand what he was getting into before he signs a contract.