Legal Question in Consumer Law in Maryland

Re: Contractor not completing guaranteed work

Your options(assuming their continued failure to

do the job properly) are:

1. Make a complaint to the local consumer affairs agency in the locality where the business is located(or its headquarters);

2. File your claim in the appropriate small claims court, if option #1 produces no results.

Re: Contractor not completing guaranteed work

If they are in fact a MD company, you can file a complaint with the MD Home Improvement Commission. You can also file suit in MD or VA, but check the contract you signed to see if it has an arbitration clause.

Re: Contractor not completing guaranteed work

First, how did the company contact you initially? If it was at your home, the Home Solicitation Sales Act applies, and they have to have given you a written agreement that contains a notice that you have three days in which to cancel the deal. Secondly, if they did anything that was in any way false, fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading, then the Virginia Consumer Protection Act applies. Unless you had a written agreement specifying a time for completion and stating that "time is of the essence", then the work has to be done in a "reasonable time" - you'd have to hire an expert witness to testify as to what that means.

The Virginia Consumer Protection Act provides for minimum damages of $500 and up to three times your actual damages, plus attorneys' fees. Even if you have a written agreement providing for arbitration, that's an arbitrable claim you shouldn't ignore.

Btw, if you get a judgment against the Maryland co. in Va., it can be enforced in Maryland under the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, as long as you got proper service of process.

I practice in the area that includes the zip code you've given, so please feel free to give me a call, 866-610-2779 (toll-free, no charge for initial consultation) if you have any questions.

Re: Contractor not completing guaranteed work

Whether the contractor is in breach or not depends on various factors. First,

did the contractor complete the specified work? This is regardless of the warranty. Namely,

was the work completed in a workmanlike manner to the standards of the trade? Second, what type of warranty was provided?

This is a matter of the wording within the contract. Each of these breaches can be pursued together. In other words, these two

actions are not mutually exclusive of each other.

The contract may stipulate arbitration. This should not be ingnored, rather this should be reviewed by an attorney PRIOR to filing any

action. The arbitration clause may or may not be enforceable. But, if it is enforceable, you do not want to create further problems by pursuing a matter

in court which is then encumbered by the judge directing the matter to arbitration. If you are to file in court, you would have your choice of jurisdiction, that is

Maryland or Virginia. If you want a decent chance at winning, you will need expert testimony.

Short of all this, an attorney may be beneficial to place a demand upon the company. The extent of the demand may vary depending on your objective.

You can also file a claim with the Maryland Home Improvement Commission. This complaint would be filed under the contractor's MHIC number. You may want to

consider a complaint to the Better Business Bureau or the Maryland State Attorney's consumer protection division.

Lastly, you can continue to work with the company and likely receive continued run around without a satisfactory result.

G. Joseph Holthaus

(410) 799-9002