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Message
Suing a subcontractor in Louisiana
Posted on 3/5/15 at 1:19 pm
Posted on 3/5/15 at 1:19 pm
Long story short, a guy doing tile work at my house didn't install a shower pan in our master shower resulting in water leakage from the shower (luckily it was caught very early and was downstairs on a slab). New tile guy has to rip out marble shower floor and the lowest level of tile surround to properly install the shower pan, and reinstall the tile/marble. Between materials and labor it is going to be around $2500.
Is the best way to attempt to recover some of the money to bring this guy to small claims court? I assume attorney fees won't be worth recovering that amount of money.
Is the best way to attempt to recover some of the money to bring this guy to small claims court? I assume attorney fees won't be worth recovering that amount of money.
7
Posted on 3/5/15 at 1:33 pm to saderade
Question: what did your contract or his proposal/estimate state he was suppose to do or work to be performed?
Have you've gone back to him to try and rectify anything?
Have you've gone back to him to try and rectify anything?
This post was edited on 3/5/15 at 1:36 pm
Posted on 3/5/15 at 1:36 pm to saderade
Did the tile guy do the work directly to you, or was he a subcontractor to a general contractor. If you hired a contractor and he hired the subcontractor, then you need to go through the contractor.
Posted on 3/5/15 at 1:45 pm to saderade
Was the contractor or subcontractor licensed and bonded? If so, he should have liability insurance. Your attorney can sue at no cost to you, attorney fee will of course come out of any damages you recover.
May be worth checking into. Lawyers can get inventive and throw in something like "pain and suffering" or "personal damage" (something lawyer speak) and make it worth his and your time.
Just a thought
May be worth checking into. Lawyers can get inventive and throw in something like "pain and suffering" or "personal damage" (something lawyer speak) and make it worth his and your time.
Just a thought
Posted on 3/5/15 at 1:54 pm to Cdawg
quote:Install a protective shower system, tile my shower and floor in master as well as 4 other rooms in the house.
what did your contract or his proposal/estimate state he was suppose to do or work to be performed?
quote:He actually "finished" his work but there were repairs that needed to be done and over a 2 month period he would never show up after saying on a weekly basis he would come to do the repairs. I eventually had to hire someone else to do the repairs and cut him loose. I was going to forget about all of this until we moved in and the master shower was leaking. The shower was torn up yesterday and it was revealed he never put in a shower pan which my new tile guy said he hasn't seen in 15 years.
Have you've gone back to him to try and rectify anything?
I was the contractor and had a builder that oversaw the project. I was actually friends with this guy to make matter worse.
Posted on 3/5/15 at 1:55 pm to ForLSU56
quote:
our attorney can sue at no cost to you, attorney fee will of course come out of any damages you recover.
??? No reputable attorney is going to take the case for free.
Posted on 3/5/15 at 2:00 pm to hungryone
quote:
??? No reputable attorney is going to take the case for free.
Damn, so much for "what I was always told". I'll stick to slugging it out in a chemical plant.
Posted on 3/5/15 at 2:01 pm to ForLSU56
quote:
??? No reputable attorney is going to take the case for free.
Proves the old saying "advice is free".
Me =
Posted on 3/5/15 at 2:12 pm to saderade
Seems like you should call the sub and tell them about this and ask for the money back before you go suing anyone.
Posted on 3/5/15 at 2:21 pm to thatguy777
Sue that prick. WTF was/is he thinking not correcting your issue.
So now Im sure, you have no contract and probabl paid im cash cause he was giving you the "hook up" price.paid him cash
So now Im sure, you have no contract and probabl paid im cash cause he was giving you the "hook up" price.paid him cash
Posted on 3/5/15 at 2:34 pm to thatguy777
Called him and left a voicemail explaining everything needed to be redone, no response from him.
And I do a have a written proposal from him and paid him by check luckily.
And I do a have a written proposal from him and paid him by check luckily.
Posted on 3/5/15 at 2:48 pm to saderade
Tile people must be the lowest of the low. I've had nothing but trouble with them as well.
Posted on 3/5/15 at 2:54 pm to saderade
Send certified letter asking for repairs then sue his arse
Posted on 3/5/15 at 3:39 pm to saderade
While your at it you need to look to see if the walls were properly waterproofed as well. i.e. Durock instead of regular Sheetrock and a waterproofing membrane. Could be worst than just the pan.
I'd recommend the schluter system if it all needs to be redone.
I'd recommend the schluter system if it all needs to be redone.
Posted on 3/5/15 at 4:12 pm to saderade
I have a friend/subcontractor that was sued in small claims court in Baton Rouge by a homeowner. My friend walked off the job b/c the homeowner was a a-hole. The friend didn't ask to be paid anything nor was never paid anything for the work he performed. The homeowner claimed my friend's incomplete job cost him about $1,000 to 'repair' (aka finish). Basically the homeowner took pictures of the incomplete work and then hired someone to finish it. Then he successfully sued my friend for the cost of the 'repairs' using the pics and the other invoice. My friend didn't appear in court as he was out of town and missed a flight back. He had witnesses appear on his behalf but the judge still ruled against him. To my knowledge, he has never paid the homeowner a penny.
tl;dr - I'm fairly certain you could win a judgement in small claims court. The trick is actually collecting it.
tl;dr - I'm fairly certain you could win a judgement in small claims court. The trick is actually collecting it.
Posted on 3/6/15 at 4:22 pm to ashy larry
Might want to tell your "friend" it's not the homeowner who comes off as the a-hole in this story.
Posted on 3/6/15 at 5:28 pm to saderade
quote:
and it was revealed he never put in a shower pan
By pan do you mean he didn't build it up and put in a membrane?
I only ask because a pan would be fiberglass bottom but in an all tile shower it should have been built up with a slope then had a waterproof membrane put down. You can even build the lip out of treated lumber as long as you use the membrane around it.
I can't believe someone would put the tile straight down without any water protection. That's lazy as hell. If he skipped that little bit, I would be leery about what he did or didn't do to waterproof the tile walls.
This post was edited on 3/6/15 at 5:30 pm
Posted on 3/7/15 at 9:02 am to ashy larry
Might want to tell your friend he has a bench warrant as well if he hasn't paid.
Posted on 3/7/15 at 12:13 pm to stout
quote:I used the wrong terminology in the OP, he didn't use a liner and just put the marble flooring down on the mortar bed. My new tile guy said he hasn't seen that in 15 years in the business. He did put a Schulter shower system on the walls.
I only ask because a pan would be fiberglass bottom but in an all tile shower it should have been built up with a slope then had a waterproof membrane put down. You can even build the lip out of treated lumber as long as you use the membrane around it.
After I talked to a few people, I am sending him a certified letter asking for payment from everything that needed to be redone and giving him 10 days to respond. I will bring him to small claims court if he doesn't respond.
Posted on 3/8/15 at 6:14 pm to saderade
Sounds like you are going about it the right way. I am currently a defendant in small claims court because a contractor I hired did a terrible job and I had to hire someone to fix it. He and I agreed that I would not pay the remaining balance due to him and use the money to hire someone to fix it. A year later, he sues me and says that I just did not pay him. I have. A pretty strong case against him and we will have trial this week. If the person is a registered contractor with the state board for liscensed contractors, and you receive a judgement against him and he refuses to pay, you can have his liscence revoked. Contractors who do work in excess of 7,500$ contract value must be registered with the state as a home improvement contractor. If you know that he is doing work in excess of 7,500$ without being registered, file a formal complaint with the board for liscensed contractors. It may not get your money back, but it may help others avoid the problems you have experienced. Also, it may be used in your case to show that he is doing work illegally, calling into question his competence and character. Be sure to fully document all of the errors in his work and the measures that were taken to fix them and make sure the person doing the repair work is willing to show up in court as a witness. Good luck.
Eta....hiring a lawyer to pursue the money in small claims court will most likely be a cost prohibitive measure.
Eta....hiring a lawyer to pursue the money in small claims court will most likely be a cost prohibitive measure.
This post was edited on 3/8/15 at 6:17 pm
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