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Can I get my money back from main contractor? Can unlicensed contractors actually sue me even though I paid main contrac

LouisianaLawsuit

Hello, I paid my contractor 25k up front to repair damage caused by Hurricane Ida (I'm in New Orleans). He has hired unlicensed contractors and just as they were about to complete their work he fired them claiming they had done a poor job. This has happened 3 times so far with 3 separate unlicensed contractors. The first crew did not do a very good job (hanging drywall) but the next two crews did well. In fact, the third crew did a great job and he has refused to pay them anything. Now he will not return my phone calls or emails. I've been reading up on the LA laws and I'm now concerned that I will not be able to recover my money from the contractor and that I may even be sued by the subcontractors even though I paid the main contractor. Any help or advice?

2 replies

May 26, 2022

To clarify, you paid the GC and the work is completed or is not completed? Also, none of the subcontractors had any sort of license to operate in Louisiana? How much was the scope of work for the subcontractors?

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May 26, 2022
Thank you Mark. I'll answer as well as I can based on what I know as of today. I paid the GC and the work is NOT completed. I just now found out that the most recent sub contractor (the THIRD) is indeed licensed because he actually works for yet another contractor who IS licensed. That's new info and I now have the name of that company. He was told he would receive 14k and best estimate is that he completed 10k worth of work before the GC fired him citing bogus reasons. Remaining work: last coat of paint, some more trim, flooring install, door frame/door install, Vanity/cabinent/sink install. The SECOND contractor - I do not have contact info as of yet. They were fired and left quickly but I will attempt to find them. To the best of my knowledge they were not licensed. To the best of my knowledge they were not paid. Work: Finishing drywall (mudding). They were also fired for bogus reasons. The FIRST contractor was hired to hang drywall. There were some quality issues there but they were more than willing to fix them before they were fired. More new info as of today. First contractor claims to have a license as well. I am surprised by that. They state that the GC "always finds reasons not to pay" what was promised. It appears he is targeting (taking advantage of) minority companies. NOTE: Some info is probably lost in translation as all of the subcontractors speak Spanish and their English is sketchy and my Spanish is terrible (sometimes we used translation apps). This last crew was very good and the young man in charge seems like a stand up guy. This GC appears to be a straight up crook. I feel very bad for these folks. I am very sure that the GC did at one point state that it would be more expensive because the subcontractors did not have insurance and would have to work under his (if that's relevant). Thank you for your reply.
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