Legal Question in Consumer Law in New Jersey

paid deposit for work to be done on home..not done

i paid 1/3 of monies to have siding and windows, etc. done on my house. Work never started as the man had a fire in his garage where my stuff was stored . all my materials were burned . Now he tells me that he has to wait for fire insurance. Does he have to by law return my deposit or should I put a lien on his house (which was damaged in the fire) He never even started the job on my house and i would like to cancel because he has another job to do before mine as well as repair his own house and i willbe waiting for ever. This other persons were burned in the garage also. My contract says work was to start end of Aug to first week of September. He has almost $4,000 of my money. He has not contacted me in a week. He asked for a copy of my contract as he said all records were burned but has not come for the copy. What should I do please?


Asked on 8/31/07, 10:13 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Corbett Corbett Law Firm LLC

Re: paid deposit for work to be done on home..not done

You can terminate the contract and get your money back. If necessary, you can sue to get it back and you should be successful.

Don't get hung up on "your stuff" being in his garage. Even if he intended that the materials be used for the work on your job, absent special circumstances (such as specially-made materials), they are his materials until they are made part of your property. The fire loss is his problem, not yours. The insurance company delay, if there is one, is his problem.

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

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Answered on 9/04/07, 9:29 am


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