I am a contractor and i finished a project in September 2018 and still haven't been paid. I was not aware of the mechanics lien until it was too late. The client was unhappy with the work in regards to the heating on a room addition, however we were only responsible for connecting the heating vents, not the power of the heating unit. We already went out to see if there was anything we can improve in the vents, but the only solution that we could get was for her to buy a new heating unit. She refused the solution and puts all the blame on the contractor. We have been giving her prompt payment invoices, but she ignores all of them. I was thinking of taking this to a small claims court. Any help will be appreciated, Thank you
Assuming you have a written contract, you have a four years from breach to sue. The question then becomes who were you in contract with: the owner or the contractor who dealt with the heating unit? Your case will be against the person you had your contract with.
Assuming you have a business entity like a corporation, you can sue for up to $5k in small claims. You get two cases per year for between $2,501 and $5k. You can file an unlimited number of cases for $2,500 and under.
Since it is late in the year and if you have not already used one of your larger cases, you should probably get that filed this calendar year.
If you are a sole proprietor you can sue for up to $10k. The limit on the number of cases in excess of $2,500 still applies.