Legal Question in Construction Law in California

Unlicensed general contractor

Some friends of mine are in the middle of a tenant improvement for their own restuarant, which they hired a general contractor to run the project. Come to find out the guy isn't the one licensed, it's his dad's license, who he claims is his partner. We checked with the CSLB and were told that he could not work as division under his dad's license. The gen. contractor claims to be a division of his dad's company. The ''general'' is acting on behalf of the owners without presenting them with any extra work or change orders despite their persistance requests for such. The owners have no idea what additional work is needed or has been performed without their approval or the additional costs involved.

It was also discovered last week that the electrical contractor that was hired is also unlicensed, which the owners were not informed of. Not to mention the job is falling behind and the ''general'' isn't returning the owners' calls.

What rights do they have? And what should they do to avoid being paying unnecessary charges or being taken advantage of?


Asked on 3/21/07, 2:34 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
JOHN GUERRINI THE GUERRINI LAW FIRM - COLLECTION LAWYERS

Re: Unlicensed general contractor

If he is truly unlicensed (or not licensed to do the work for which he has done), then you can easily sue him for a return of all the money that you have paid him. This is provided for by statute in California.

The second issue is what to do about the work. You will likely need to retain a replacement contractor (and this time verify licensure status with the CSLB) and have him/her finish the work.

If you need help, call or email.

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Answered on 3/21/07, 1:43 pm


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