Legal Question in Construction Law in California

Re: Non-licensed concrete contractor

Under section 7031 of the California Business and Professions code (part of the Contractor's license law,) you may sue an unlicensed contractor for a full refund of all monies paid to him!! Regardless of the work quality!!! However, collecting from him would be another question. You need to determine if he has any assets to pursue before you waste you time and money.

Best of luck

Ezra

Re: Non-licensed concrete contractor

The jurisdictional limit in small claims is now $7,500, so you could get a judgment for the full amount. Buy one of those soft-cover self-help law books on how to present and win your case in California small-claims court. Have photos and the licensed contractor's evaluation and bid as evidence of harm and damages. You may win by default, as the guy probably won't show up. Then study the part of the book that discusses collecting your judgment.

Re: Non-licensed concrete contractor

It is illegal for an unlicensed person to perform contracting work on any project for which the combined price of labor and materials is $500 or more. A person who utilizes the services of an unlicensed contractor may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction in this state to recover all compensation paid to the unlicensed contractor for performance of any act or contract. In small claims court, an individual may sue for up to $7,500. Please know that an unlicensed contractor tends to be the kind of person who is going to prove almost impossible for you to collect a judgment from, although small claims costs represent a fairly insignificant portion of the potential amount of your case, and the contractor may eventually pay the judgment to clear his credit record.

Re: Non-licensed concrete contractor

Unlicensed contractors are notoriously difficult to get money out of. And they often live hand to mouth. You definitely have a case against him, though. You could go into small claims court and get a judgment, then try to collect. A better strategy would be to see if the Contractors State License Board will come down on him and require him to make restitution. It is also a crime to work without a license, so you can try to report him to the police and see if the DA will bring him up on charges and then require him to make restitution. I'll warn you, though, that unless the DA can determine that he is causing problems amongst a bunch of unsuspecting homeowners, they'll probably decline to prosecute. For that matter, you may have a tough time getting the police to take a police report. These approaches have worked before, though, and they likely have a better chance of success than the traditional lawsuit.

Re: Non-licensed concrete contractor

Sure, you can sue. Can you collect? Not if he has no assets other than a beat up pickup and a shovel.