Legal Question in Civil Litigation in North Carolina
We paid $4,350 (60% of bill) in April to a cabinetmaker to build custom cabinets for our kitchen and bathrooms. As of today, only one bathroom vanity cabinet and the bottom-half of the kitchen cabinets have been installed; however, there is a missing cabinet door, no shelves in the cabinets, and there is an unfinished portion on the end that is missing six inches. Without those six-inches, we will have to put the granite company on hold for the third time (granite is scheduled to be installed on Tuesday, June 22). Initially, he told us it would take two weeks to build the cabinets and he would have them installed by May 8 or 15. He continually promises that he's coming "today" or "tomorrow," then never shows up and he doesn't call to let us know.
We continually call the man and leave him messages. He waits a few days before he finally calls us back to give us more excuses and promises. This man also works at the same company as my father, but when my father approaches him at work he avoids him by saying he'll call him later.
At this point we are ready to call it quits. Since we'd have to remove the bottom cabinets to start over with Lowes purchased cabinetry, can we force him (thru small claims court) to remove the cabinets already installed and refund our money?
1 Answer from Attorneys
No, you cannot "force" him to remove the cabinets. Forget about calling. Write the man a letter and send it via certified mail. Advise him that he has ten days to: (1) remove the cabinets; and (2) refund your money due to the shoddy work. Tell him if he fails to respond, you will hold him liable for the costs. Keep the shoddy cabinets! Take pictures showing the bad work. You will need them later.
If he does not respond (and he probably won't) then have someone else who is reputable remove the cabinets. Get invoices for the work. Do likewise for the new cabinets and the installation.
You can sue in small claims for the cost to remove the shoddy cabinets. Regarding the cost of the new cabinets, you either have to sue for the difference in value between perfect cabinets less what you actually got (expectation damages) or your money back (rescission damages). Pick whichever is greater. The limits of small claims is $5,000. If you are seeking more than that, get an attorney. However, attorney fees are generally not recoverable unless you had a written agreement with the man authorizing such recovery. And if you did have a written agreement, make sure that it does not contain an arbitration clause. If it does, then you might be precluded from going to court.
If you are able to settle this matter, get a mutual release which both of you will sign. This must be done before any money changes hands. The release is important because you do not want him filing a mechanic's lien for any of the work that he did and he does not want you suing him for additional funds.
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