Things to Know About Your Rights When Suing a Contractor
When entering into a contract with a homeowner, a contractor has a responsibility to provide effective, quality work that is not considered a nuisance to the homeowner. If you’ve experienced issues after entrusting a contractor with your home, it’s time to exercise your rights. Many property owners choose to begin the process by sending a demand letter, which is a formal request for the contractor to make a refund or repair to their property. For example, if a homeowner feels that the contractor has failed to provide quality work , they may choose to send a demand letter for either partial or full compensation. This may be under warranty or a result of the contractor providing defective products. A demand letter may be the best way to resolve a situation involving a contractor. Homeowners also have the option to file a complaint against a contractor with the state’s Consumer Protection Agency. The complaint requires the owner to provide details about the work that the contractor completed, billing information, and scheduled inspections of the work that the homeowner did not arrange. Filing the complaint holds many contractors accountable and provides reassurance to the homeowner that other contractors are keeping the standard provided in building codes. It is important to review with an attorney if the contractor is licensed in your state to understand how to best handle the situation and what your legal rights are.
What to Do Before Suing a Contractor
Before you sue your contractor, first you should try to resolve the dispute amicably. You also don’t want to spend a lot of time and money on litigation if you can avoid it.
The first thing you should do is collect as much information as possible about what went wrong and how it went wrong. Look through your records to collect the following information:
- The contract with the contractor.
- Copies of cancelled checks showing payment to the contractor.
- Any other documents exchanged between you and your contractor, such as correspondence or work tickets showing what the contractor did (and what the contractor was paid for).
- Photographic evidence if possible.
- If you’ve had any independent inspections of the work after it was completed, obtain those as well.
- Talk to your neighbors. It’s possible that some of the same workers have worked on other homes nearby and may have committed the same violations or done poor work on those other homes.
Once you have all of your information collected, the next step is to contact your contractor to try to settle the dispute amicably. If the contractor will not respond or allows some time to pass, you may want to give the contractor a deadline to respond about the matter. If there is no response or the response is unsatisfactory, you may want to consider either mediation or arbitration.
How to Hire a Lawyer Who Sues Contractors
When it comes to finding the right lawyer to pursue your claim against a contractor, do not just go to Google and type in "contractor fraud lawyer" or a similar inquiry. Finding the right lawyer to sue a contractor is a very important decision and will require some research to find the best lawyer for your case. You may want to ask friends or family members for referrals, seek recommendations from others who may have used a lawyer with a similar background, or just browse through various internet sites that allow you to identify lawyers in your area. The main thing to consider when choosing a lawyer to sue a contractor is to make sure the lawyer has experience with construction law and can show you a track record of cases similar to yours. Many attorneys specialize in various areas of the law, and contractors are just one small piece of the larger puzzle of construction law. Be sure that anyone you are considering has more than just a general understanding of construction law and is familiar with all issues that may arise when trying to collect a judgment against a contractor. Ask each lawyer you are considering to review your case and give you an honest opinion of whether or not they believe you have a case. A good lawyer will be able to spot any potential flaws in your case and help you determine whether or not a lawsuit is worth your time and money. Once you have narrowed down your list of qualified attorneys, consider their rates and fees. You will want to have an honest discussion with your attorney about the amount of time you expect the lawsuit to take and realistic estimates of how much time will be required of you and your lawyer. With any lawsuit, generally more spent equals more earned, and trying to save too much money in attorney’s fees often results in you earning much less. Hiring an attorney to sue a contractor is no different—consider the fees carefully and hire an attorney you can trust to do the best work for you at a fair price.
How to Find Local Lawyers: Resources and Tools
When you are looking for a local lawyer to sue your contractor, different methods and tools can be used. As you research your options, consider the following: Legal Directories: There are many directories available to the public to assist in the search for local lawyers. The Internet and the yellow pages have many resources available, such as FindLaw and SuperLawyers. You may also have access to different legal directories through your public library. Bar Association: The American Bar Association has a directory of all its members that can be searched online. As with each state’s bar association, this directory is free and completely open to everyone. It is also updated frequently, and thus can provide you with a lawyer that is currently licensed in your state. Referrals: Friends, family, and co-workers can all be great sources of lawyer referrals. Most people have had to hire a lawyer at one point or another , and many will have a lawyer who they may recommend to you. Be sure that when you contact this lawyer, that you ask if they have dealt with any other contractors like yours before. A lawyer that has personal experience with your type of case may be able to help you more than one who has not. Legal Aid Services: Legal aid services are provided by nonprofit groups that provide free legal assistance to low income groups. They are a great place to begin your search if you cannot afford to pay for legal assistance, but need to pursue a case against your contractor. Legal aid services may also be able to provide assistance if you are being sued by a contractor. For example, if your contractor files an action against you attempting to collect money he says you owe him, a legal aid service may be able to provide assistance.
What to Anticipate When Suing a Contractor
In most cases, the homeowner will submit their lawsuit within the proper statute of limitations. If the suit is in the state of Maryland, the statute of limitations is within five years of the violation. If the violation happened in Virginia, it is only one year.
After submitting a lawsuit at the courthouse, the court will give you a return date which is when the case will be heard. You have to serve the contractor to have them appear in court. If you are having problems serving the contractor, you will have to ask the Court for an extension. Once the contractor has been served, they will have 21 days to file their answer to the complaint. They can file a motion to dismiss, a request for more information, or a denial. The court will then schedule a conference with the judge so that they can evaluate the situation. The judge will determine if there is a reasonable answer or if a possible settlement could take place. If the judge does not dismiss the case, the judge may ask for discovery documents and possibly schedule the trial in two to three months. If within the course of that time, the parties are able to settle the case, the judge will dismiss the case. If they can’t, then the case will go to trial.
The discovery process will give you many documents from the contractor. The contractor’s attorney can come over and get copies of the dispute or go to court and file for some records. The contractor’s attorney is able to take oral depositions of the homeowner and/or contractor so they can ask questions on the witness stand.
The trial will be a bench trial (which means the judge will decide the verdict). Once the case is called, the judge will make a decision on the pre-trial motions. The attorneys will give their opening statements to the court and present their witnesses. The attorney will have a cross-examination and the judge will allow both sides to question the witness. In most cases, the judge will question the witness. The attorney will then give closing arguments, which is like a short mini-summation giving rationale to your case. The judge will have a little time to issue the decision.
Things to Try Before Suing
An alternative to consider when dealing with a problem contractor is alternative dispute resolution. Typically, a neutral third party will step in to help negotiate a solution without the drawn-out process and expenses associated with a trial. While you likely won’t be able to force your contractor to agree to this, there’s a chance he or she will find it preferable to going to court.
Neither mediation nor arbitration is as formal as a lawsuit or trial, which usually means your chances of a successful and speedy outcome are better. And while there are some downsides to ADR—for example, it’s usually not binding in the way that a final ruling from a judge is—there are many upsides.
ADR can also help you preserve the relationship you have with your contractor. If you’re still in the construction project with this person or company , it’s important to keep a working relationship with them (since they’ll be coming back to your property to finish the work), and ADR can help you resolve the conflict without making things worse.
As an example, you might choose to go through the mediation process with your contractor. A mediator—a neutral third-party—will meet with both parties to discuss the conflict and how to resolve it. The mediator won’t decide how to resolve the dispute but will provide advice, ask clarifying questions, offer a neutral perspective and help foster peaceful communication between you and the contractor.
If you’d rather not spend time reconciling with the contractor, however, you can always go directly to litigation if you choose.