On last January 6, 2020 I signed an agreement with a roofing contract to submit a claim with my homeowners insurance. It states check is to be made in both parties names and if by chance check is only in my name I was to notify them within 5 days. The claim was approved and checked arrived in my name ...I notified them of same At that point ... they became unprofessional to deal with. According to my insurance company the claim was not submitted as joint claim ( I forget the exact terminal logo). Thus I have not had any work done by them and no materials have been purchased. Now I want to hire another contract. There was a notice of commence dated April 23, 2020 which I recently terminated with the county (no notification to original contractor) Am I obligated in anyway to the original contractor ? Can I proceed with another contract? Can they put a lien on my home ?
First, they cannot lien their home if they did not do any actual work. That would be a fraudulent lien. However, it sounds like you signed an AOB contract. The legislature passed a new law effective July 1, 2019 putting strict limits on AOB contracts like yours. You will need an attorney to review your contract to see if it complies with the new law. If it doesn't, you may be able to get out of this contract. But call an attorney first to see what your rights are.
You may contact me at reese.henderson@gray-robinson.com.