I'm the main GC that finished a renovation project on a customer backyard pool and patio. He wants to hold 15k for a few punch out items. Never communicated any of this until we pressed for payment.
Does your contract address the owner's right to withhold and/or be reimbursed for any incomplete, defective, or deficient work? If you don't dispute the punch out items, then the most effective use of your time and money may be to complete those items ASAP to remove them from the discussion. Even if you decide to take the owner to court based on the argument that the owner did not have the right to withhold, if the punch out list is not disputed, the reasonable value of completing that work may be deducted from the $15K in any event.
We have disputed the items. There are no items that have anything to do with our work.