Hello - I am a partner of R&N Construction (subcontractor - retaining walls and paver installation). We have a contract with KT Grading for Caldwell Station Apts. in Huntersville, NC. Their own contract states that pmt terms are 45 days, but we have waited over 6 months for payment, We are issuing a lien the job (our first in our twelve year history), but here is the question: KT Grading's contract states that they are a General Contractor. After looking them up on the NC GC website, they are NOT a GC. Levelset has them as a subcontractor and on their Annual Report, they list Real Estate Development as their primary business goal. Is this actionable?
General contractor is a really broad term, and it's relatively common for an owner or developer to also consider themselves a general contractor. So, I'm not sure that a party (allegedly) incorrectly identifying themselves on a contract would be an actionable offense, in and of itself.
That being said, if they're performing work that requires a general contractor's license, and if they aren't properly licensed, that could be an issue for them. Reporting the contractor to the proper authority would help to stop them from doing that going forward, and it's possible that claims would arise due to the contractor's misrepresentation.
For further discussion on NC licensing rules: (1) Contractor Licensure in North Carolina | Ward and Smith; and (2) North Carolina Licensing Classifications. Additinally, since NC licensing isn't really my strong suit, one of these NC lawyers may in a better position to provide some color on this topic: Top North Carolina Construction Lawyers.