Legal Question in Construction Law in Texas

Re: What if we can't locate the Defendant?

You can bring a suit in Small Claims Court in Texas for an amount not to exceed $5,000.00. However, it will do you little good without an address. From your question, it appears that you did not have his address when he started the job. Here are some sources to find an address:

1. References when you hired him.

2. Suppliers and/or subcontractors that he used for your job.

3. Check the endorsement on the check(s) that you gave him. That may lead you to his bank, and maybe you can get some information there.

4. Check the tax appraisal district and tax assessor's office to see if he is a property owner. If so, you will find an address there.

5. Check with the county clerk's offices for filing of deeds, mechanic's liens, and other liens, where his name and address may be listed.

5. Check voter registeration lists.

6. here are several URL's that give a means for free searches. Because you are an internet user, you probably already are aware of this. Some are free, and some charge a fee for searches. Here are some:

http://www.ussearch.com/wlcs/index.jsp

[Search for name and age]

http://www.switchboard.com

[Telephone directory search]

http://www.cwhitelaw.com

[List of various search media]

Some of the URL's given above will give cites for fee based searched searches.