Construction Legal Questions

Let me start by saying that I am not an expert in the area of contracting law. You did not say if the seller is a contractor who builds houses or just an individual who built his own home and then sold it to you. Most contractors who build houses will provide a warranty of some kind. I did go to the statute that you cited in your question. My reading of the statute and the annotations is that this statute is intended to address the issue of when a contractor is allowed to recover its expenses when the issue of whether it is licensed or not licensed and it sets monetary statutory limits for those. I do not read the statute to say that it has to keep the house for two years before it can sell the house. ... Read More

The danger if you do that is it could possibly be turned in to the police for fraud/theft of services.  You might call your credit card company and see if they offer any dispute resolution process.  You may have certain options available to you under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act.  If the work done falls under that Act or under the Door-to-Door Sales Act, your contract has to contain certain provisions.  It is not unusual for contractors to not comply with those provisions and it may give you a nifty "out" of the contract and option to demand all of your money back. Take the contract to an attorney familiar with the Act and see what remedies you have. ... Read More

Depending on your contract and when you did your last work, you may still have a mechanic's lien right.  When you say "commercial customer" I am assuming that you did your work directly for the business, you weren't a subcontractor.  If you were a sub, there may be additinal hoops that you have to jump through.  FIling a mechanic's lien will secure your right to be paid by placing a lien on the property that you "improved" with your work.  There is a short time limit to file your lien, 75 days from your last real work on that project.   Whether you file a lien or not, you still have a contract right.  You can file a small claims complaint in your local small claims court (small claims division of the municipal court).  If your company is a corporation or LLC you can still file a small claims complaint for cases under $3,000.  Over that amount you must have an attorney.  If you are not a corporation or LLC, you can handle the case without an attorney.   There are a few options of which municipal court is appropriate if your company is located in one city, the work was done in another and the company is located in yet a third:  Where you did the work; the principal place of business of the defendant; where the contract was breached (this can include where payment was due--was payment to be mailed to you at your place of business?  If so, you can genearlly file suit there although you may get some pushback claiming that it the wrong venue).  This generally doesn't happen because, among other things, small claims defendants frequrently do not even show up for the hearing.  If they do, its a little like Judge Judy.  If not, you still have to appear and tell the judge (magistrate) your story. You may wnat to hire a lawyer to help you complete the small claims complaint, but generally, you can do that yourself.  You get a small claims complaint form at the municipal court.  Some courts that are on line let you download copies of the form.  One of the tricks is to tell enough of the relevant facts without saying too much.  The forms try to limit you to three or four lines of facts.... Read More

If you can prove that your builder either with knowledge acted to defraud you or negligently caused you damage based on the standard of a builder in a similar situation you should sue for damages.  Be prepared to spend more than $6,000 on the fight. A demand letter may help to convince your builder that it is not worth his time and effort to defend such a lawsuit and bring him to the negotiation table.... Read More

Your question about breach of contract implies that you want to sue him. But before just stopping payment without warning or filing a lawsuit there may be other methods to get him to finish the job. Stopping payment without warning might create an adversarial situation. Edward Zohn, Attorney at Law, Warren NJ, 908.791.0312  ... Read More

Call the code enforcement office for the town.  they have to keep vibrations down to a minimum.  you should have someone take a film of your entire property and date it so that if there are any cracks, you will be able to document that the cracks are new.  You may also have to contact the county engineer, and determine if the neighbor has ll of the proper permits for interior renovations and construction.... Read More

What does your lease agreement say about repairs and maintenance to the premises?  The lease agreement controls who pays for these costs.   I agree with you that this is a cost that the contractor should cover.  If you have to pay this cost, then you can write a demand letter to the contractor to repair the work or to reimburse you if you have to pay for the costs.  If they don't pay, then sue in small claims court.... Read More

When to pay for work is part of your negotiation.  There is no law on that.  What does the written agreement you have with your contractor say about when payment should be made? As a part of any payment to the contractor, you must also receive a conditional release from any subcontractors or material suppliers to make sure that every gets paid... or at least if the general contractor doesn't pay them, then they can't go after you for payment.  Here's the forms: http://www.cslb.ca.gov/Resources/GuidesAndPublications/LienReleaseForms.pdf... Read More

Thank you for your inquiry. Because I am unaware of the specific details of your case, I will respond to your question generally.  The NYS Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR 3122) provides that a lawsuit is commenced by serving a Summons and Complaint upon the defendant. The Complaint will contain paragraphs which clearly state the various causes of action that you are making against the defendant - this is true in a construction accident case, or any other type of case. Once the defendant has been served with the Complaint, the defendant has either 20 or 30 days (depending on whether the service was made personally or otherwise) to serve an Answer to the Complaint. If an Answer is not served then your attorneys may apply to the Court for a judgment in your favor - on default - also known as a default judgment. Because the default judgment only determines issues of liability, you will still have to prove that you are entitled to money damages in what is called an "inquest."   ... Read More

The question first must be asked as to why the Association was in the Unit performing work?  Was there notice; was there an "event" that caused damage to your Unit or others?  An Association has the right of entry in emergency situations to prevent further damage.  However, they don't usually move forward with extensive work without first some notice and opportunity to address the claim.  Unfortunately, there are not enough facts outlined to really answer a question.  If you have further information feel free to email me dinverso@nhlslaw.com... Read More

Your employer is required to provide worker's compensation insurance in case of an injury on the job.  First thing to do is to talk this over with your employer.  If that doesn't work, then contact a worker's compensation attorney or a personal injury attorney to pursue your rights.... Read More

Building codes change over time and they are certainly much different from 20 years ago.  If you are making changes to your home, you may be required to bring your home into compliance with the current building codes. Discuss these changes with your architect to see if you can make different changes that wouldn't require an upgrade to current building code standards.... Read More

Get the name and address of the contruction company.  If you don't know it - call the town and get the information from the building permit.  Send a letter, certified mail, to the contracution company and the owner of the property advising them of the damage.  Include pictures.  You should also put your own homeowner's insurance company on notice.  Tell them you want the damage repaired immediately.  you may need to get an estimate for the cost of repairs.... Read More

Yes. Your situation sounds like a clear case of malpractice. Assuming that your attorney took your case prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations period he/she was certainly charaged with filing the case prior before it was time barred.  Although it was probably an honest mistake your attorney is still legally responsible for that mistake and you can seek recourse against him/her. Jon... Read More