Legal Question in Construction Law in New Jersey

Re: Theft of Services

breach of contract is not theft of services. there is a good deal more needed to be able to make a good-faith claim of theft. you may want to sue in small claims court (Special Civil Part). A lawyer would help, but I suspect the amount of money is too small to make it worthwhile.

If you would like, give me a call; I am in northern New Jersey. I will be happy to discuss this with you; the telephone consultation will be free.

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Re: Theft of Services

To get a criminal conviction for theft of services you would have to show, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant obtained the services intending not to pay for them. That intent must exist at the time that the contract for services was made. This dispute sounds more like a civil contract dispute that arose after the contract was made.

It would seem that you have two options depending on the specifics. You could sue either in small claims court or in Special Civil Part if the amount is large enough. Alternatively, you may be able to get some milage via a construction lien.

Do not file a criminal charge just to "get their attention." If you make a criminal complaint without good reason to believe that it is true, you subject yourself to both criminal prosecution and civil liability.

See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm

Re: Theft of Services

As an attorney, it is unethical to ever advocate threatening or imposing criminal charges to gain a civil advantage, thus I cannot advocate that course of action.

Since you ultimately are just looking to get paid, file a complaint in Special Civil Part or small claims court to recover the money. The cost of doing so is little and the ruels require tht it move pretty fast.

You can hire an attoreny, but typically the cost of doing so is not worth it for realtively small claims. Further, the filing is not complex and since the only issue is the bill owed for the services.

Good luck