Fourth District, Division 3 Affirms Award Under B&P Code Section 7160, Finding No Apportionment Was Necessary. Under our category “Unlicensed Contractors,” we have looked at a number of decisions where unlicensed contractors do not suffer well at any level, including when it comes to assessment of attorney’s fees case. The next case is no […]
Award Is Sustained, But Winning Subcontractor Under Contract With Fees Clause Fights Back Unlicensed General Contractor’s Illegality Argument. Usually, under our category “Unlicensed Contractors,” we are dealing with decisions where an unlicensed contractor wins a dispute with a fees clause and attempts to obtain an award of attorney’s fees—not very successfully. In the next
Fifth District Determines Unlicensed Contractors May Not Offset Reimbursement/Disgorgement Claims Under Unlicensed Contractors Law. Here is a spin on our category POOF!, where a reversal usually means a fee/costs award goes away for the time being. This next case is a reverse POOF!, where a denial of a costs award was reversed and
Second District, Division 8 Finds Fee Fixing Award Was a Nullity or Was Mooted by Unlicensed Contractor Determination. Our category “Cases: Unlicensed Contractor” surveys decisions holding that attorney’s fees are not awardable to prevailing unlicensed contractors under Civil Code section 1717. The next case we discuss follows the result reached in those prior decisions,
No Clear Published Decisions, Although Unpublished Decisions Offer Some Clues or Seem Divergent on the Subject. For anyone litigating in the construction area, a true bane is dealing with a client who is discovered to be an unlicensed contractor. Business and Professions Code section 7031 provides that no unlicensed contractor may
Fourth District Rejects Substantial Compliance Doctrine and Strips Judgment/Fee Award From Subcontractor on Appeal. Business and Professions Code section 7031 bars unlicensed contractors from recovering compensation for work performed under a construction contract. In recent years, the substantial compliance doctrine—which previously gave breaks to certain unlicensed situations where a managing agent
