Legal Question in Construction Law in California
I recently purchased a fixer upper on property in Cotati and did so using a renovation loan through Wells Fargo. In order to get the loan my father gifted me part of my down payment. My father is a contractor and we jumped through hoops to get him to be my contractor for the project. We submitted a bid to Wells Fargo for the work to renovate the house. I worked on tasks to fulfill requirements related to my new homeowner�s insurance policy and he helped me to fulfill these, never indicating he would bill me, he was helping me out. My father and I have since had a falling out. He helped to initiate the permit process, but due to requirements by the city, the permit was still pending. After our falling out he went to the city and cancelled the permit process without my knowledge.
About a month ago he sent me a letter and a bill for an astronomical amount of labor that he indicated he performed per my verbal direction, and I can only figure that he�s referring to what he had been helping me do. It also included paying back the gift. He asked for a copy of the signed gift letter which I mailed to him.
A couple weeks ago I received a mechanical lien notice that he hand delivered. How can he put a lien on the house when none of the work on the original estimate submitted to Wells Fargo for the construction loan has been performed? As for the extra work performed there was no estimate�s, EWO�s, T&M documentation provided to alert me that he would bill for any of the work.
Due to this project being performed under a renovation loan I have since talked to several contractors that have informed me that the bid provided for the Wells Fargo scope of work is in accurate and does not in any way represent what the actual project would cost. I have been reviewing the work that my contractor is trying to bill me for and there is no possible way that he can be accurately representing the actual number of hours performed. Both of the above stated items lead me to believe that my previous contractor is shady, is falsifying his documentation and is not using his contractor license in an accurate manor.
Can someone please help me with this?
4 Answers from Attorneys
I practice real estate and business law from my home near Tomales. I'm not really sure what the "way out" for you is here; this seems to be a family matter as well as a business and legal dispute, but if you have an idea for a time and place where we could have a chat about this, I'd be willing to toss around a few ideas at no charge for the initial conference. I'm going through Cotati several times a week. As to the mechanic's lien notice, I'd guess your relationship with your father was closer to a business partnership than it was an owner-contractor relationship, but more facts are needed to know what the solution is here.
This is a construction law matter and appears to involve several issues. For residential construction, a written contract is required. There may be some licensing arguments depending on how your father conducts his business...and if he's not properly licensed at all times during the performance of the contract, he isn't entitled to any compensation, including for labor, equipment and materials. "Proper licensing" means not only does he have to have the correct license but many other steps have to be followed in order for it to be "valid" (such as complying with worker's compensation laws, etc.).
Given the scope of issues, it's difficult to answer your question in this forum but I suggest you consult an attorney who focuses on construction law.
I have been a construction attorney for 25 years. My last job for a pay-check before going out on my own was Construction Counsel to the San Francisco International Airport Commission, as a Deputy City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco. If you would like to discuss the details necessary to give you any real idea of your options and likely outcomes, feel free to contact me. My initial consultation fees are very low and are refunded if you later hire me to handle the matter for you.
I should also warn you, since no one else has mentioned it, you are probably on the verge of having significant issues with Wells Fargo about this too. So it is not a matter to let slide for any length of time.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
