Legal Question in Construction Law in California

Re: Shoddy Work In Bathroom Remodel

I would definitely make sure that the licensed contractor is not paid in full through your credit card up front before you accept the work. It is also illegal for him to charge you upfront for the full job before it is completed.

I suggest that you review your payment obligations of your contact and only pay the contractor for the work that is acceptable at this time.

Generally a contractor may only collect a maximum of a 10% deposit or $1000.00 whichever is less upfront and may not collect more progress payments than the value of the work that has been done (may not front load a job and collect payments in advance of the work done).

However, you should not withhold payment for the value of the work that is acceptable. Perhaps the best avenue to pursue would be to get a written estimate from another licensed contractor to complete the work at this time and then pay the original contractor the difference between what the new contractor will charge and the contract price, if any. If you do this, then this will allow you to withhold payment without you being liable for breach of contract for withholding payment that should be paid under the contract.

To this end I suggest you cancel or stop the charges on the credit card transaction and verify that those charges have been reversed then pay the contractor for the value of work performed (The contract price less the cost to repair/complete the work provided by the estimate of the other contractor) by check.

As far as the contractor repairing the items, you must provide him with a "reasonable" opportunity to repair the items if it is under warranty or the job is not complete. If you lock him out prematurely then you could be liable for breach of contract.

If you have provided him a "reasonable" opportunity to repair or replace the items then you may lock him out and have the new contractor complete the job. However, I caution you that differing people may disagree on what is reasonable so that you should provide him with written notice of the defects by certified mail return receipt requested and give him a reasonable period of time to repair and a date to have the work completed. Make sure your notice indicates that he represented that he would use skilled personal with 10 years experience or more and that you are aware that his representation was false. Also make sure that your notice indicates that these are the defects that you have observed, but that this list is not all inclusive, and he should repair all defects in materials and/or workmanship, whether they are latent or patent. Also indicate that you are willing to pay for the value of work actually completed in a good workmanlike manner which is defined as the contract price less the estimated amount that it will take to repair/replace the defective work.

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