Court Bars Licensed Contractor From Seeking Compensation for Work Performed by Unlicensed Sub

It all started with a tree. A eucalyptus tree to be exact. What followed is one of the more important cases to be decided under Business…

Business and Professions Code Section 7031, Demurrers, and Just How Much You Can Dance

Fights between owners and contractors under Business and Professions Code section 7031 can get nasty and detailed. An owner’s remedy under Section 7031, as courts have…

Contractor’s Assignment of Construction Contract to Newly Formed Company Before Company Was Licensed, Not Subject to B&P 7031

Add one more to the Business and Profession Code section 7031 archives. In Manela v. Stone, Case No. B302660 (July 1, 2021), the 2nd District Court…

1st District Joins 2nd District Court of Appeals and Holds that One-Year SOL Applies to Disgorgement Claims

We’re beginning to see a trend. This past year, the 2nd District Court of Appeals, in Eisenberg Village of the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the…

You Can Litigate a Dispute. Just Don’t LITIGATE a Dispute.

Litigation can get personal. But when you’re an attorney as well as the litigant, things can get both personal as well as nasty, and this can…

Court Holds That One-Year SOL Applies to Disgorgement Claims Under B&P Section 7031

We’ve talked before about Business and Professions Code section 7031 which courts have referred to as “harsh[ ],” “unjust[ ]” and even “draconian.” Under Section 7031,…

You May Be Able to Dodge a Bullet, But Not a Gatling Gun

In the days before cable, and long before Netflix, I watched my fair share of spaghetti westerns on lazy weekend afternoons. Bullets zinging past cowboys, knocking…

Proving Contractor Licensure in California. The Tribe Has Spoken

As I mentioned in an earlier post, in California you must “prove” you’re a licensed contractor in a construction case. But in whose hands are you entitled…

Did the Court of Appeals Just Raise the Bar for California Contractors to Self-Report Construction-Related Judgments?

An interesting construction case just came out from the California Court of Appeals for the Second District this past month – Pacific Caisson & Shoring, Inc. v.…

Ameliorating (a Bit) the “Harshness” of Business and Professions Code Section 7031

California courts have variously described Business and Professions Code section 7031 as “draconian,” “harsh[ ]“and “[u]njust[ ],” but nonetheless enforceable. Section 7031 both (1) prohibits unlicensed or improperly licensed contractors…

There’s a New Sheriff in Town, Pilgrim

If trial is the Wild West, then arbitration is no-holds barred cage fighting, where the only rule is that there are no rules. To be fair,…

Unlicensed Contractor Required to Disgorge All Money Received

Most California contractors are familiar with Business and Professions Code section 7031. And if you’re not, you should. Variously described by California Court’s as “draconian,” “harsh[…