Legal Question in Construction Law in California
I build boat docks and I recently built a dock , the only money I recieved was for materials; roughly $4200+/-, labor is over $7000- when I asked for a progress pymt. the job was 3/4 done i was refused, but promised full pay once completed; I paid about $750- in materials, over $1000 in wages & owe over $1000. once completed he said wasn't done needed one more thing promised to pay after. turned into 4-5 things now says has problems won't pay until fixed. I proved nothing with workmanship, but would fix the problem if paid half prior withwritten promise to pay after done. heard nothing for about two weeks. I have a written contract and documentation however, I am not a lic'd contractor. the city I work in does not require a contractors lic. to perform the work and it is my understanding; CA law prohibits any "person" from owning water and only allows the right to use it. Therfore, no one actually owns their boat dock once it is in the water, so building a "personal" boat dock would not be considered a home improvement and I would not technically need a lic.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Your best bet will be to sue him in small claims court. The maximum amout is $7,500 and you can do it yourself. Good luck.
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In my opinion you are required to have a contractors license to perform this work as it does not qualify under the minor projects rule (less than $500) nor is there a dock exception given your belief that the owner does not actually own the dock. That being said, any legal action will be easily defeated by raising your lack of license. My suggestion would be to continue to try to work with the owner to finish the job and get paid.
You need a contractor's license to build boat docks. They aren't home improvements, in many cases at least, but the need for a contractor's license is not limited to home improvement projects.
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