Picture this, you hire a contractor to renovate your kitchen.  The contractor was referred to you by a friend. Therefore, you didn’t do much in the way of vetting his qualifications or otherwise determining whether he was likely to do a good job.  Or maybe he doesn’t have a website and there are no credible reviews online.  You make progress payments along the way and end up paying him $40,000.00 which was a bargain for his work.  Shortly after the project is finished the dishwasher leaks, the kitchen floor is uneven, and your recessed lighting is shorting out.  Of course, you contact the contractor about these problems. He tells you the job is complete and there is nothing more that can be done for you.  Time to sue, right?  Not necessarily.

Where Will the Money Come From?

In a previous video, I discussed that most contractors do not maintain insurance to cover “workmanship” defects such as what I described in our scenario.   So a winning lawsuit against our sloppy contractor would have to be paid out directly by the contractor or, if he is incorporated, the business itself.   What are the chances that a crappy contractor with no online presence has $40,000 in cash laying around?  Not good.  Or worse yet, the contractor himself has money but his business is an LLC. Unfortunately, the business has no assets and will just claim bankruptcy if you secure a judgment against it.

The above scenario is all too common.  But you are not without recourse.  Hiring the right attorney can help minimize the expense involved in finding out how far to pursue the contractor. Or better yet, will help you identify other possibly responsible parties that can pay out a judgment.  For example, you may sue the contractor individually (assuming he has an incorporated business) and force a sale of his personal assets.

If you have a contractor or other business dispute, contact the attorneys at Mobilio Wood today.