We’ve all seen the horror photos on social media of poor workmanship examples, along with lay advice for suing a contractor for poor workmanship. In truth, poor workmanship lawsuit rules will vary from state to state. Today, let’s discuss how suing a contractor for poor workmanship works —and why it matters.
To be clear, just because you’re not pleased with the results from a contractor doesn’t mean you have grounds for a successful lawsuit. There’s a legal threshold that must be met to qualify as poor workmanship. Suing a contractor for poor workmanship requires us to establish that your contractor failed to meet certain workmanship standards.
Know The Industry Standards When Suing A Contractor For Poor Workmanship
One of the easiest ways to protect yourself from falling victim to poor workmanship with no recourse is to establish the standards in your contract. Regardless, most contractors still have certain industry standards they must meet. We can look to trade associations to determine workmanship standards in most industries. Building codes and regulatory agencies also offer standards that can help us establish whether the threshold for poor workmanship has been met in your case.
At LloydWinter, P.C., we are well-versed in construction litigation and understand a variety of ways to establish that a contractor’s workmanship has been subpar. We are also determined to represent your best interests. We won’t force you to settle out of court if it doesn’t get the result you deserve. Whether you’re a property owner who hired a contractor directly or a general contractor who subcontracted out, we believe you deserve justice.
Before Suing A Contractor For Poor Workmanship
Before suing a contractor for poor workmanship, you should speak with them about the problem in writing. We understand that typically when someone has done subpar work on your property, you won’t want them back. If the hardwood floor that a contractor installed began warping, that’s an issue with the product. If there’s an inch and a half gap along the wall that is left bare, that is the contractor’s fault.
We understand it may feel infuriating trying to work with the same contractor who ruined the job in the first place. Still, this step can be useful to your attorney when building your case — it’s also the natural first step.
Send A Demand Letter Before Suing A Contractor For Poor Workmanship
We don’t recommend that you draft the demand letter on your own. The demand letter will likely be used to support your claim of unresolved poor workmanship if you eventually decide to sue the contractor. A demand letter will detail the solution you expect from the contractor to resolve the situation. Be sure to explain to your attorney what type of resolution you would be ideal — and also what type of resolution would be satisfactory to you. Understanding your goal can help your lawyer draft an appropriate demand letter.
Preparing For Your Lawsuit
In a previous blog post, we detail how to file a claim against a contractor’s insurance and many other topics about civil litigation. Ultimately to prepare to sue your contractor, you should gather all written correspondence, photographs, other evidence you feel may be useful to your lawyer and the contract for the work that was supposed to be done.
We will go over all of your options at our consultation, and we’ll listen to your expectations and your goals. Together, we can build a plan for a successful suit against your contractor. Please keep in mind though, there is a statute of limitation on civil suits.
If your contact was a verbal contact, you typically have two years to sue. If your contract was written, you typically have four years to sue. Now, if the issue wasn’t revealed until later and property was damaged due to the poor workmanship, you have three years from the date upon which the damage took place to sue your contractor.
Is Suing Your Contractor For Poor Workmanship Worth It?
There are a number of reasons why it makes sense to take a contractor to court over poor workmanship. Obviously, you deserve to have what you paid for. It’s fair to expect that a contractor is capable of completing the job as described with quality workmanship. You paid for work to be done properly, and it wasn’t. This is the most obvious for people to sue.
Still, there is another principled reason to sue a contractor for poor workmanship. Someone has to hold the contractor responsible, or they will continue performing atrocious work and victimizing consumers. When contractors look at a job they completed, they usually know if they’ve done a poor job. If a contractor can look at their work, know that they’ve done a bad job, keep your money and walk away — they must be held accountable.
Even if the poor workmanship wasn’t obvious to them, they still should be held accountable. The more unskilled contractors get away with ripping people off, the harder it is for people to trust any contractor. We’ve represented many very honorable, incredibly talented contractors from a variety of trades. Those talented, honorable contractors are the ones who deserve to land new jobs — not poorly trained, unskilled or careless contractors.
If you’re thinking of suing a contractor for poor workmanship, schedule a consultation with our team at LloydWinter. We’ll assess your case and let you know if we think it would be worth it to sue your contractor. If we think you have a case, we’ll do everything in our power to get you the compensation you deserve.
