Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
small claims court
I was hired by someone to install hardwood floors in his home. He offered me $8000 for the entire job and paid $4000 upfront. after I completed the job he claims that some small defect in the wood that he claims were done by me and will not allow me nor anyone else to fix the flaws, refuses to pay me the balance. The flaws can very easily be fixed. I'm sueing him in small claims court, I do not have a contractors license but I also did not solicit do do the job, he seeked me out because this is the type of work I do and have for 25+ years and am very good at what I do. As for the job being done correctly it has and has been inspected by a professional contractor and agrees it is a professinal job with only minor reepairs needed that is normal and most of what he claims is wrong is manufacture defects from material he supplied. Will the fact that I don't have a license prevent me from winning my case if that comes up. Thank you
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: small claims court
Yes, if you need to have a license for the type of work you do then the lack of a license means you can not charge for the work performed, even if the homeowner knew about it. Since judges in Small Claims Court often do not closely follow the law, you mihgt e able to get a decision in our favor although not entitled to it. Argue that he sought you out, knew you did not have a license, hired you anyway and probably did it because thought he could evade payment,sos he should be estopped from raising the defense of a lack of a license.
Offer in writing that you will pay for a professional, licensed floor installer of his choice to fix any defects if he will then pay you the $4,000 balance. Get a letter from the other installers saying there are no defects caused by you or that they are very minor and you could fix them without difficulty in a few hours, etc. You can then try to get those letters into the Small Claims Court hearing by pointing out you sent the;m to him [best if written by and signed by other installer's under penalty of perjury].[I, xxx, declare under the laws of the State of California that the above is true and correct of my own knowledge and/or belief and that if called as a witness I could and would so testify. Signed this day of ,2007 at [city], California.
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