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We submitted billing for a partial contract amount, waited for two months only to find out that the general contractor is requireing us to submit a materials/ labor breakdown. This was not stated in the initial signed contract and in my opinion is a breach of what I consider to be trade secrets.
answered on Nov 14, 2019
Normally if you have a fixed price contract, the other party cannot ask to see your labor and material costs.
The contract you have might require this, or require a list of your subcontractors, so please review your contract in detail or have legal counsel do so.
answered on Nov 4, 2019
Why do you feel you were overcharged?
Was this a fixed price or cost-plus contract?
answered on Oct 23, 2019
As a general matter, legislators are not prosecuted for their actions in the course of making laws. Good laws are made and bad laws are made. One process for catching bad laws is judicial review, where a court could invalidate a law upon determination that is unconstitutional. Good luck
Tim... View More 
A licensed contractor sent unlicensed tile installers, (1099 employees, not W-2 employees), to install our kitchen floor. The job was $1,500 plus materials. He claims that since they were "employees," and covered under their workmans comp, they did not need to be licensed. Is this true?
answered on Oct 4, 2019
Homeowner With Question On Licensure: Your thinking about licensed subcontractors is mostly correct (nicely done !). A contractor or subcontractor may perform ANY TYPE OF WORK without a license so long as the whole of the work is LESS THAN $500.00 (the "PennySaver" advertisement type... View More
The judges and clerk of the US District court prejudiced against the ProSe for not admitting the crimes the defendants lawyer tried to make up. Then the judges were bias and prejudice so we requested the judge to recuse from the case but refused to do so. After the recusal request, the lawyer... View More
answered on Sep 10, 2019
You don't sue the judge. Judges are generally immune from civil liability for their actions in court. As a practical matter, they are entitled to latitude, and they don't even have to be right 100% of the time. They have to deal with what they have as best they can. If the ultimate... View More
12 HI contracts with 1 GC 10 paid in full due to how progress payments worded Only 3 HIC completed 65% work don 85% of total balance paid Arranging financing for 1/2 of 15% left but now have preliminary lien notice from subcontractor & want to hold back 10% of total balance until resolved &... View More
answered on Aug 30, 2019
Dear Owner Requesting Advice on Retention Payment issue: While I am adept at advising owners in a construction setting, your question as stated is probably not capable of reply in this limited forum until more information is obtained. Critically, an attorney would definitely need to review the... View More
I went to home depot to have a new door installed. I talked to an employee. They took down my info and said contractors would contact me. One of their contractors started the door install. We started talking about a remodel of bath and kitchen. He started the next day. NOW HE DID THE DEMOLITION... View More
answered on Aug 18, 2019
Homeowner With Contractor Abandonment. Your situation sounds upsetting; I'll try to offer some guidance.
First, perhaps you should be trying to contact the actual contractor that abandoned this job - do you have their company name ? if you do you can look them up online or on... View More
answered on Aug 15, 2019
Open an account at pacer.gov and you call search all federal databases.
The start up guy from the company came out one time and never seen him again now our pool is forman brown stains in the pool and spa and they wont do anything about it do i have cause for legal action
answered on Aug 9, 2019
You could set up a quick consult with a California attorney to review the contract and the options it presents to you. You could discuss arbitration (if it is a condition of the contract), small claims, or continued efforts to work toward resolution - and try to figure out which route could be... View More
Found out that the contractor (employee of the company) charged us $800,000 to remodel our house the owner of the company said that the actual cost was $480,000. Our contract stated that we would pay the cost of the work done plus 15% for the contractors fee. This work was completed in 2012. We... View More
answered on Jul 25, 2019
Unless you have provable evidence of fraud you may have run out of time to da anything about this very unusual situation. And before you move in the direction of suing for fraud you should hire a lawyer experienced in real estate and business contracting law. You may find out that the owner of the... View More
I have a job which is complete now. My first progress billing was April. My final billing was May. Neither have been paid to me, yet the prime contractor has required all closeout documents, including warranties to be submitted. Further stating all progress payments will be held until documents are... View More
answered on Jun 26, 2019
Since this is the end of June, it sounds like the primary contractor has had trouble getting his progress payments from the buyer, or whoever is building the property. Here is the bottom line: Regardless of what you "have always believed" about progress payments and when documents are... View More
In December of 2018 my home sustained over 45,000 interior damage rendering it uninhabitable . I signed a contract with a licensed , reputable restoration company February 20, 2019 for repairs . Contract appears legal but the start and end date of work was left blank . Explanation given “ we may... View More
answered on May 28, 2019
Based upon your description of what happened it sounds like you have good reason to ask the builder for a statement of the work done, and then pay the builder some reasonable amount (especially for materials) and cancel the contract IN WRITING. However, before you do that you might want to look... View More
I worked for the person contracted to do this job and he couldnt contact them at tax time so he pretended to be someone else to get my ssn. I did cash some checks from him cause he claimed he couldnt withdraw the money and i had acheck cashing account. i cashed them for him to pay the people... View More
answered on Apr 24, 2019
I have represented a taxpayer in a situation quite similar to yours. My approach led to the IRS completely exonerating my client.
I just started a new job as a traveling steel/ Iron worker. The company is an ESOP.
I was reading over my employees handbook and came across this paragraph."Nonexempt hourly employees that travel and business are paid for hours spent traveling as outlined below: REGULAR TRAVEL:... View More
answered on Apr 4, 2019
There are a lot of facts and documents that would need to be known to give a definitive answer. Union membership and collective bargaining agreement provisions would need to be known. Generally, without a CBA that might be allowed to modify the law in general, you must be paid for travel at a... View More
I have no family he took care of me and payed all my bills I don't know what to do he did everything for me for 17 years
answered on Mar 4, 2019
I would think YES they have to "evict" you. That's likely to happen FAST. At 30+ years old, now is as good a time as any to go and grow up and join the adult community out there and experience the outside world! Sorry for your loss. Good luck with you!
answered on Dec 7, 2018
In general, a mechanic’s lien is a security interest against someone’s property. It can arise if a homeowner fails to pay a contractor who performs work and the contractor files the lien. If you are involved with a mechanic’s lien and require more in-depth information, consult with an... View More
Very strange, he won't return calls or texts. We know he's alive because of recent social media postings. Our project is not complete and he has some materials we already paid for. We will have to hire somebody else to finish the project. He has left at least $1000 dollars worth of tools... View More
answered on Dec 4, 2018
First, it's better you look at the contract to see if (i) any period required for a contract termination; (ii) if the answer is yes, then you have to follow it, and you will have your entitlement to sell tools left at your house. If the answer is no, (or you think it is worthy doing so) then... View More
The owner did disclose that it was not permitted, however, failed to inform us that the city opened a case against them. Now the tear down costs are beyond our financial means. Any advice?
answered on Aug 14, 2018
If at the time the seller disclosed to you that the patio was not permitted they knew that the City had opened a claim against them, you might be able to sue the seller for the tear-down costs you are now incurring, which they should be responsible for.
This contract was signed by me and contractor Southerland Torres Construction back on March 28, 2018. I am living/renting at Extended Stay Hotel. Contractor told me work will only take 6weeks total. So I thought ok I can do this hotel thing. Well, I gave the man my money $19k and all he did was put... View More
answered on Jul 24, 2018
i had a similar thing happen to me................obviously a crook
was he licensed? report to the licensing board? sue in small claims for up to $10k but getting a judgment is just the first step. Then you have to get him to pay.
you can also go to the local court where he has... View More
Contractor hired from a referral website called Thumbtack.com. I got several estimates before I chose him. We agreed that he fix home just the minimum needed so I can move into it. Because I'm staying in a hotel with my dog. I was in a hurry its too expensive. Contractor told me he take only... View More
answered on Jul 3, 2018
File a complaint with the State Contractor's License Board (http://www.cslb.ca.gov/Consumers/Filing_A_Complaint/).
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