Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Landscaper scam

Do you know if this landscaper is licensed and carried insurance? Did he obtain permits? You should call a few attorneys that specialize in construction defect (as I do), discuss all the various facts and see what recommendations you get. You can also learn more at:

http://www.cslb.ca.gov/

Re: Landscaper scam

Contact the state contractors licensing board and report this incident. The contractor may have violated the law by taking more money than is allowed by the law.

Re: Landscaper scam

It's a civil case for breach of contract.

You can sue in small claims for up to $7,500.

Re: Landscaper scam

The issue between you and your landscaper is for breach of contract and it is a civil case.

The issue of hiring an attorney really depends on the price of the contract, the damage if any the landscaper caused with the work he did do and the amount of work and the cost involved in order to set things right by either placing you in the position you were in before he started the work or to give you the funds he did not use and place you in the position to get the work completed by another landscaper.

IF your contract price was $7,500.00 or less you do not need an attorney and can go after the landscaper in small claims court. If the contract price was greater than $7,500.00 or the cost to complete the work is greater than $7,500.00 you should consider a limited jurisdiction court case.

However, you must weight the amount of your costs vs. the amount of recovery and what the attorney will cost you.

If your contract price was high and some breach of contract issues involving home improvements, and landscaping can be extremely high then the damages are probably extremely high. If this is the situation and the damages are far above $7,500.00 then it should be handled by an attorney. However, if it is small enough to use small claims court I would suggest proceeding that way. Good luck