Legal Question in Construction Law in California

I'm in Southern California and have my own company for design and sale of solar equipment. I am not a licensed contractor. I have a contractor that I work with and he does my installations (contracts separately for the install, I sell equipment directly to the customer). My questions is -- is there a way to contract directly with the customer for turnkey systems without a qualifier/RMO/RME and still sub the work out to the installer? I want to make sure 1) I don't get completely cut out of the deals if they contract directly with him for turnkey systems that I've sold, and 2) have a couple of people that would like to do sales for me, and the contractor wants nothing to do with the administrative/financial burden of 1099'ing for the salespeople.

Thanks in advance!


Asked on 3/06/13, 7:17 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

The answer is absolutely no. The business that contracts with the customer to do the install MUST be a licensed contractor; most likely a general contractor, although depending on the actual design and installation a specialty contractor's license may qualify. If you contract with the property owner without the proper licensing, the penalty is extreme: they get to refuse to pay you, and if they pay you anything they can sue you and get it all back. That's right, they get your labor and equipment for FREE.

It is possible that I could give you a more complete answer and/or refer you to local resources if I knew where you are located. However, LawGuru for some unknown reason decided to stop asking questioners for their zip code. That makes it impossible for us attorneys answering questions to provide a location specific answer. In many cases what county or even city you are in is crucial to the help we can provide, especially if you are asking a Family Law, Real Estate, or Landlord/Tenant question. If you appreciate my providing you this free answer, please take a moment to contact LawGuru Support and complain about this. Thanks.

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Answered on 3/07/13, 10:45 am


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