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Small Claims - Contractor

rcpratt

rcpratt

Lifer
Yeah yeah, most of you aren’t lawyers. But I’m curious to hear from others that may have been in a similar situation.

Long story short — a contractor that we hired to build a deck for our house took our deposit and is not building our deck. We’ve been trying to work with him as he kicked the can down the road for several months. At this point, he’s blocked our numbers and obviously has no intent of building our deck or returning our $3,000 deposit.

This is just a guy with a small business — I think he really just has one or two guys working for him. Not a big reputable builder or anything. He built most of the decks in our neighborhood, so I thought he was safe. Lesson learned...

I intend to file a small claims case next week to get our deposit back, as that seems like really the only option at this point. Curious if anyone else has been down this road with a contractor. One thing I’m wondering is if I should be suing his company or him personally. I have no idea if his company is a LLC, sole proprietorship, etc.

We’re in Michigan.
 
Depends on the state. If you're lucky, call the sheriff's dept and try to have him locked up for breach of trust since he took the $$. I've seen these go both ways, arrest warrant and "it's civil, call the magistrate." But he took the $$.....criminal, imo, but I'd lock up my Ma for non-payment.

Licensed is good. You'll need to see what agency (maybe dept. of consumer affairs) and contact them to file a complaint. Your sec. of state site will have the llc info/agent/address/... My bro had $60K worth of concrete done by the only guy in town. The work was shit and it turned out he wasn't licensed to do jobs over $20K. At the end of the day, his insurance paid some $$ back or the state was going to take his contractors license.

Our county has a judicial site where I can see anything from a ticket to a murder charge. See how many times he's been sued. If it's multiple, you still need to go through the process but your stuck.

Look up the county land records to see what he owns and how his name is listed on them. If you have to sue, do it with the proper name on his property. I'd put him and the llc on the summons paperwork. Make sure you file the judgement at the court house.

You don't need a lawyer, here, unless it's over $15K. And don't pay for these sites to look up land/legal records. And @Exterous @boomerang are from your neck of the woods and may have more insight.



Or shoot his dog and burn down his she-shed.
 
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Why did you give him any money if the job was never started? I've hired a few contractors over the years, for roofing, HVAC, addition, etc. It's always been half the day they start the job, and the other half when they finish, and I'm happy with the job. Even in these situations, I've used a CC to give me additional recourse if needed.

Never had to give anyone a deposit before they showed up on the worksite. If they don't have funds to buy materials without a down payment, I want nothing to do with their fly by night outfit.
 
highland145 said:
Depends on the state. If you're lucky, call the sheriff's dept and try to have him locked up for breach of trust since he took the $$. I've seen these go both ways, arrest warrant and "it's civil, call the magistrate." But he took the $$.....criminal, imo, but I'd lock up my Ma for non-payment.

Licensed is good. You'll need to see what agency (maybe dept. of consumer affairs) and contact them to file a complaint. Your sec. of state site will have the llc info/agent/address/... My bro had $60K worth of concrete done by the only guy in town. The work was shit and it turned out he wasn't licensed to do jobs over $20K. At the end of the day, his insurance paid some $$ back or the state was going to take his contractors license.

Our county has a judicial site where I can see anything from a ticket to a murder charge. See how many times he's been sued. If it's multiple, you still need to go through the process but your stuck.

Look up the county land records to see what he owns and how his name is listed on them. If you have to sue, do it with the proper name on his property. I'd put him and the llc on the summons paperwork. Make sure you file the judgement at the court house.

You don't need a lawyer, here, unless it's over $15K. And don't pay for these sites to look up land/legal records. And @Exterous @boomerang are from your neck of the woods and may have more insight.



Or shoot his dog and burn down his she-shed.
Click to expand...

Thanks, this is helpful. Hopefully the dog and she-shed will be spared.

Mostly good news, I think. I was able to squint through some 3" x 4" preview documents without forking over any cash.

It looks like he took out a mortgage in 2009, which was subsequently discharged one month later. Not exactly sure what that means. No further mention of any mortgages. Based on Zillow and the taxable value of the home, it looks like it's worth at least $400k. Mortgage in his and his wife's names.

They've also had a series of four liens on the home from the State Treasury for failing to pay state taxes. It looks like all four have been released. The first was in 2012 and the last was released this May.

Nothing on the county court search.

I had emailed him on Friday that I was going to file a small claims case today, although it's going to take a few more days. He finally emailed me back today stating that he doesn't have my money today and that I can contact his lawyer.

Google says he's a bankruptcy lawyer. It looks like he could just completely discharge any small claims judgments if he files bankruptcy? Lovely.
 
rcpratt said:
It looks like he could just completely discharge any small claims judgments if he files bankruptcy?
Click to expand...
He may be feeding you a line so you go away but, yep. But he has to file bk so fubar-ed credit for a few years. He can't just file on what he owes you. He would have to file on all of his debts/medical and the court will decide what chapter. He could have to liquidate but that's not my area. My debt is considered unsecured and I don't get paid. If he does file, you won't be getting any $$ anytime soon, if at all.

Talk with the sheriff's dept? Sure would inquire since he's telling your to fuck off, again. I wouldn't mention the possible bk to them because it's just hearsay and they might, "Woah, a lawyer. You're on your own."


I'm rooting for the dog/she-shed route. He sounds like a P.O.S.
 
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Edit: Sheriff, 1st. If they decline, you can call the lawyer, tell them who you are and why and see if he's retained them. They still might not tell you. Then certified letter telling him he's in breach of trust (or contract (?)) for your paper trail. And a certified one to the lawyer, if retained, so you don't fall through the bk cracks.
 
highland145 said:
Edit: Sheriff, 1st. If they decline, you can call the lawyer, tell them who you are and why and see if he's retained them. They still might not tell you. Then certified letter telling him he's in breach of trust (or contract (?)) for your paper trail. And a certified one to the lawyer, if retained, so you don't fall through the bk cracks.
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If none of the above works. I have a cousin named Vinny! Just message me and I will put you in contact with him!!
 
Taking a deposit and not doing any work is illegal every where that I know of. If the contractor does anything thing like bring a box of nails to the job then its civil. No good faith what so ever equals crime.
 
Contractors sounds like he has done this before. Probably to pay his taxes. Sounds like you may have just spent $3000 on an education.
 
olds said:
Contractors sounds like he has done this before. Probably to pay his taxes. Sounds like you may have just spent $3000 on an education.
Click to expand...
I'll survive if I don't get my money back, but I'm going to ruin this guy's life in the process.

It's definitely annoying that he paid off his overdue taxes after receiving our deposit. What a scumbag.
 
rcpratt said:
I'll survive if I don't get my money back, but I'm going to ruin this guy's life in the process.
Click to expand...

Sounds like he was already in pretty bad shape before he got you involved in his life. (because that's actually what's happening here: he's got you sucked into his vortex. It's gonna be way worse for you, too, because this guy has experience)
 
zinfamous said:
Sounds like he was already in pretty bad shape before he got you involved in his life. (because that's actually what's happening here: he's got you sucked into his vortex. It's gonna be way worse for you, too, because this guy has experience)
Click to expand...
We've got RC's back. We can help him get away with the she-shed business.
 
Don't touch his pets, they didn't do anything wrong. Mask and a baseball bat to the knees will make you feel much better anyway. Since you are in Michigan no one will care.
 
Sorry, guess I'm overdue for an update.

So, the sheriff was basically useless. Apparently Michigan's consumer protection laws were gutted by the courts awhile back and are now useless.

I ended up hooking up with a lawyer who's a family friend who was willing to help us out a bit. He sent this guy and his lawyer a letter with some mild threatening and even offered to leave him alone if he would just build the damn deck. They didn't engage, and we ended up filing a lawsuit earlier this week. Still not sure or not if he has or will be filing bankruptcy or if he's just trying to scare us off. The lawyer is hoping that we can go after him for fraud, which apparently would not be voided under a bankruptcy filing, if we can show that he never intended to build the deck.

We talked to two more neighbors who are in similar situations. One of them gave way more money than we did, so that made me feel a bit better. The other one is still being told by this piece of crap that he's almost ready and will be doing his deck within the next few weeks.

I'm working to contain myself from harming the she-shed or pets at least until we can get through the lawsuit.
 
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