Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania
I contracted in April with a person for some jobs and construction of a room in the basement of our new home we were moving in to. There is no expected date of completion on the contract. He told my wife and I it would take about 3 days. I understand as a "side job" this would not be done that fast but it is now 3 months, the frame for the refrigerator was enlarged; the walls are up for the room and have sheetrock and have been taped and floated, the wall installed, the cement walls in the room have been painted with dryloc paint but the contract says "all walls," a glass block window has been installed, the back door has been changed, but the ceiling is half done, the room to enclose the furnace and water heater has the frame and nothing else (paid an extra $200 for materials and labor for that as it was not part of the original contract). They (him and 2 helpers) have not shown up for 4 weeks. I was told on July 7 that he was going to complete it the following Saturday (July 10) but a no show and no show since the weekend before the holiday (June 26/27). Again today, Saturday, no show. He has no phone, never answers my calls at the number I was given to contact him. Do I have any recourse? Can I fire him? The job was to cost $3750 and he was paid half up front for materials. I need the room done because we cannot finish moving in until the rooms are finished. He still has to fix the roof and clean out the gutters and apply leaf guards. The roof is still leaking when it rains. I need this done and I would like to fire him and hire someone else to get it done now. Any recourse? Thanks for any help.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Contractors do not have to be licensed in PA, although the attorney general now maitains a registry. Did you use a registered contractor? If the contract was over $500 it had to meet requirements.
You should have had the time for completion in the contract. But you did not, although the law would infer a reasonable time . I do not think that 3 months is reasonable unless the work was unduly complicated. What I would do is send a certified letter to the contractor and ask if the contractor intends to complete the job. If so, ask specifically when the job will be completed or even better, give him a drop dead date (say 2 weeks or a month) for the work. Ask for a response by phone or letter within a week. The goal is to make it appear on paper that you are reasonable. If the contractor does not respond at all and does not show up to do the work, then state in your letter that you will have no choice but to get someone else to do the work. Get written estimates from other contractors. Only use a contractor who is registered with the PA Attorney General.
Take pictures of the work before the new contractor starts. if problems are encountered, dpcument those problems with pictures and a writing by the new contractor. You can then civilly sue the old contract for what you had to pay the new contractor minus what you would have paid the old contractor for the job. You can also sue to recover if the old contractor did negligent work. You can probably sue in magistrates court as the amount is under $8,000.
If your contractor is not registered, you may also want to file a complain t with the Attorney General. Here is a link to the website: http://www.attorneygeneral.gov. There, you can get information on contractors and the Home Improvement law.
You can get a home address on the guy by using a people finder service and paying a modest sum or a service that locates missiong heirs and other persons. It may be more expensive but will be more accurate.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
