My parents hired a sub contractor and paid him $2,500 upfront for a $4,750 natural gas pipeline replacement. He dug the trench & has gone missing. The company he subcontracted under is saying that they dont know him & he didnt work for them but they pulled the permit for the job. He never installed the line and just took the $. What do we do to get our money back especially since the company isn't acknowledging him as an employee
Hello,
Sue them both. The person who pulls the permit has some limited responsibility and, obviously, the guy who took the money and ran has all the responsibility the law can slap him with. Keep in mind there are two parts of a lawsuit. The first is winning and the second is collecting. It sounds like there would not be a problem with winning but there may be a problem collecting here, if the contractor is broke, which he likely is. We can find out, though.
Also, by way of correction, if your parents hired the guy directly, he's an original contractor not a subcontractor.
E. Aaron Cartwright III
214.789.1354
Aaron@EACLawyer.com