Legal Question in Construction Law in Massachusetts

Breach of Contract

We have a signed contract with a contractor. He replaced our entire roof, however the flat rubber roof in the back is not pitched and now it has a ''bowl''effect. When it rains the bowl fills up and then the water pours down through the walls and windows. The other roof had no flashing installed and now it is sagging and pulling away from the house because water has seeped down into the underside of the roof. We have tried several times to contact the Contractor because the roofs are under warranty with a written contract. Can we bring criminal charges against this contractor? We went to Arbitration with the state for the other problems we had with this contractor, the arbitration was settled in our favor, however the roofing issues were not included in the process - the information about the roof did not get to the arbitrator in time. He did state, however in the settlement that we could seek damages because we have a legal, binding contract and the roof is only 1 1/2 years old. I have made six phone calls to this contractor and the only response was that he sent his carpenter up here to put the flashing up. The building inspector was here and said that the whole roof needs to be replaced because we now have structural damage.


Asked on 2/23/05, 1:32 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Re: Breach of Contract

You appear to have a claim for breach of contract, and consequential damages that could exceed the original contract price. It also appears that your contractor is trying to avoid repairing his error and/or making good on the damage that he caused. Our office has a substantial real estate, construction and municipal law practice. Please feel free to call or e-mail me with any questions you have.

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Answered on 2/24/05, 10:15 am


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