Contractor caused a minor asbestos spill and refused to pay for the cleanup. Since the day of the spill, there hasn't been any work done by the Contractor
1 reply
Nov 25, 2019
Ultimately, that may depend on what the desired outcome or course of action will be on a given project. If the contractor has breached the terms of the contract with their performance, then an owner may be entitled to terminate the agreement and seek damages against their contractor and to bring someone else in to finish the work.
Alternatively, an owner might want to seek legal claims against the contractor for the defective work - in which case Colorado's construction defect laws should be followed. If the below process is followed and no resolution is in place, then an owner is entitled to file suit against their contractor for defective work.
Under CO Rev Stat § 13-20-803.5, an owner must provide a contractor a Notice of Claim at least 75 days before filing legal action against the contractor for defective work (and this is 90 days for commercial projects). Then, the contractor will have 30 days (45 days on commercial jobs) to inspect the alleged issues. And, within 30 days of that inspection, the contractor must send an offer to settle the issue - either by paying for remediation or by performing the necessary repair work themselves.
Bottom line
Owners can't take gambles when asbestos is present on their property. When a contractor has caused an asbestos spill and refuses to pick up the phone - much less fix the issue - it may be helpful to reach out to a local construction attorney. They may be able to in forcing a contractor to do the right thing and remedy any issues they've caused on the job. And, even if they can't, they'll be able to advise on how best to move forward.