Does any one in New Jersey have a good lawyer?

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mtnelectrical

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Essex, New Jersey
It was posted long enough to get advices from the colleagues. Thank you for all your replies I will keep you guys posted. Well if you dont hear anything from mtn, visits are really welcome at the county j... :cry:
 
I think that the guy is right about you sabatoging the job. You could be legally responsible to repair it or worse. Sounds like you've gotten yourself between a rock and a hard place. Removing your unused materials and destroying the work are two different issues. Sounds like you'll need an attorney ASAP. I wouldn't say anything to anyone until I spoke to an attorney. In fact I would delete your post immediately. Sounds like you've just admitted to a crime in writing.
 
Same advice as Trevor.

We had a contractor here who did the same as you. He lost in court, then the homeowner went after his license with the licensing board, and they suspended his license for 6 months.
 
Two big red flags were ignored here:
  • Why did the previous EC stop working?
  • They failed to make any down payment as required by the contract
The first one should make you investigate, and the second one should make you walk away from the job.

As for your current circumstances, you do need a lawyer. Remove this post ASAP and don't discuss this matter with anyone except your lawyer.
 
mtnelectric, since you are going to leave this post up I would like to make a comment. Jeff is right there were red flags that you chose to ignore. But even without the flags it's possible to lose money in this business. Each of us assumes a certain amount of financial risk. I have had a couple of jobs that went bust and the owners went bankrupt. To get anything, I had to setttle for less than I thought was right but it was still better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick and a week in jail. From your post it does not look as if you tried to use any of the legal options that were open to you. The first thing that I try is bypassing the GC and going straight to the owner ( The GC may have been paid and decided to keep the money, if so you have legal options). The owner may be bankrupt ( if so the property will be foreclosed, make sure there is a lien on the property and try to settle with the bank). A month is really not a long time to wait for money ( it may be longer than you like ) but even if it takes a year to collect it's still better than the alternative ( giving up any claim on said money). Six grand would make a nice little Christmas present next winter. Every contractor will eventually get stiffed on a job, it's as much a part of the trade as taking a spill from a ladder or getting shocked. No one likes it but it's going to happen. You have to learn from your mistakes and move on. Having said that I hope you come out of this OK and learn to show more restraint next time.
 
This is part of the back of my signed contract.

OWNER/CONTRACTOR DEFAULTS:
Owner/contractor will be in default if:
(1) Any payment called for under this proposal and all authorized change orders becomes past due.
(2) Any written agreement made by the owner/contractor is not promptly performed.
(3) Any conditions warranted by the owner/contractor prove to be untrue.
(4) Failure of owner/contractor to comply with any of the conditions of this proposal.

Electrical contractor's remedies in the event of owner/contractor defaults, in event of owner/contractor default, electrical contractor may do any or all of the following:
(1) Suspend the work and remove its material/equipment from the premises.
(2) Remove any Electrical Contractor-supplied material/equipment, whether or not it has been installed and whether or not is has been placed in operation. In this regard, owner/contractor agrees that electrical contractor may enter upon owner/contractor property for the purpose of repossessing such equipment without liability to owner/contractor for trespass or any other reason.
(3) Retain all monies paid hereunder, regardless of the stage of completion of the work and bring any appropriate action in court to enforce its rights. The owner/contractor agrees to pay all costs and expenses, attorney's fees, court costs, collection fees (including fees incurred in connection with appeals) incurred by electrical contractor in enforcing its rights under this proposal.

Do you think this part might help a little bit :( . Well just in case I didnt broke in , I still had the keys.
 
Let me tell you a story about a fence contractor I hired 2 years ago.


Contractor and I agreed that he would remove existing fence and replace for x$. Contractor told me he would be done in one week. 3 months later, he still wasn't done. When he finally got around to finishing the install, he demanded money - I refused as he hadn't removed 1/3 of the existing fence. One week later he starts taking down the new fence - his contract had similar verbage in it as yours. Police were called, they "claimed" it was a civil matter. I wanted them to arrest/ticket contractor for trespassing. Never happened.
Eventually, I hauled him into court where the arbitrator informed us that the contractor could sue me for "malicious prosecution". I had the case dismissed without prejudice - leaving me the option to refile if I so desired.

Every atty I spoke to said - in their opinion - that the fence contractor was in violation of the FHIPA (Fair Home Improvement Practices Act) - EVEN THOUGH the contract had the line about "material remains contractors property and may be removed".

I was also on the other side with a customer (actually, the GC) didn't pay and I was in the process of removing the already installed CBs...officer tapped me on the shoulder wagging his finger saying "Please don't make me arrest you ..."

If I were YOU, mtn, I would contact Levy, Ehrlich & Petriello. They are based in Newark and actually gave me free advice over the phone on a LL/T issue. This is NOT a referral, this is merely a suggestion as to whom I would use if I were walking in your shoes.
 
whether or not it has been installed and whether or not is has been placed in operation. In this regard, owner/contractor agrees that electrical contractor may enter upon owner/contractor property for the purpose of repossessing such equipment without liability to owner/contractor for trespass or any other reason.
Click to expand...


Had you taken that contract, to a New Jersey Attorney for review, he would have removed, or revised that section.

Contract Law is different in every state, and each state different remedies, for breach of contract, or non payment.

You had the upper hand in getting paid, you had a signed contract.
 
It could be said you are a thief. Even though the contract states the material is yours until paid. Absolutely get an attorney.

Remove your confession!
 
This thread appears to be a continuation of some other discussion. I do not know what other discussion that might have been, and don't intend to do the research to find out. This type of topic has no place on this Forum. This thread is closed.
 
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