need legal advice

[denny80689]

A few months ago I had some landscaping work completed by a local landscape company. They installed a retaining wall 4 feet tall and re-graded my yard. The process was a disaster which nearly resulted in legal action because the contractor ripped up the yard and dissappeared for nearly a month. After it was all finished he had burried our down-spouts and within a week they were exposed. his idea of burrying them was to go about 4 inches deep. The grade in the yard was also a mess because now the yard sloped towards the house pretty drastically. The wall also has 2 places where it is sagging no longer level. After over 3 months of phone calls and a complaint to the BBB we never heard back.. That brings us to today.
I went into the basement to find a waterfall rushing through our window into the basement. I ran up-stairs and out back to see that the yard was flooded and due to the slope towards the house was funneling water directly into my finished basement. I quickly called some frineds and got a few pumps here and was able to control the flooding with a very large pump that we used to completely drain the yard. Then I called my favorite landscaper and left a message explaining what had happened and that the next call would be from a lawyer. Well he finally called back and claims he never got any other messages from us over the last 3 months. Then he tried to say it was due to the house setteling that it flooded. I was pretty angry and told him that not possible and I never had water prior to his work. He actuily came out, looked at it and said he needs to re-grade... (wow no kidding?!?!) and claims he will be back next tuesday once everything dries out.
The issue here is, I know he wont show up. Just like all the other times he claimed he would be here to work on the yard and never showed up. So would my best bet be to hire a lawyer and sue to have the wall repaired, grading fixed and basment repaird? Im not sure what to do next...

 

[farmboy]

Take pictures of everything for physical evidence. Get a lawyer. If you are like most of us, your money is in your home. Don't let it get destroyed! A lawyer MAY tell you to get it fixed by ANOTHER outfit and charge it to the first guy. That would be fitting.

Good luck to you.

 

[jcrim]

It really depends upon how much your damages are... there is a limit at which it will not serve your purpose to pay for an attorney. In MI, small claims court is for claims up to $3000 and no attorneys are involved. That may be a good course of action. In my opinion, you will probably not find a decent lawyer unless the damages are at least $15,000 to $20,000.

 

[nmocean]

What about contacting your homeowner's insurance company, and see what they suggest? You don't have to file a claim, but tell them your problem, and they may have an idea for you. Is your contractor licensed, did you have a contract with him?

 

[tangman99]

If you buried him close the house, wouldn't the mound make the slope go away from the house solving both of your problems? :thinking:
Sorry, not trying to make light of your problem and I'm sure you probably already thought of that yourself.

 

[denny80689]

lol yes we had thought of using him as a swail in the yard to reduce the flooding...

The damages will probably not be greater then $3,000. And yes we had a contract and also a written warrenty saying the wall wont sag. It isnt so bad that I would normally have taken action over the sagging but his attitude and constant lies have me to the point that I do want it taken down and redone but not by him. So I do like the idea of getting another company to replace the wall and charging him for the replacement. Now that things have dried out a bit in the basement it looks like I will need to have the drywall and insulation replaced on one wall. also the carpet and padding replaced because it was waterlogged. This will require me to move my 125gal tank... The last thing I want to be worried about is mold because my wife is 8 months pregnant...

 

[beth]

I doubt this individual is even licensed, and for the type work you describe, he needs to be. First check to see if he is [on not] and if not, that would be a reportable offense. And, of course, if he is not, that would be significant grounds for a sued. Keep in mind, that if you didn't pull permits that you too may be trouble.
On the other hand, does he have a thriving business that you can tap into for a law sued? If not, then you may just be out of luck.
I had an experience like that myself, but did not have major work done as you had. The guy wasn't licensed and I could have shut him down. Thankfully, I realized that he was incompetent [really it was his workers that were incompetent] and basically did not have him do all the things I had in mind to do.

 

[scubadoo]

Many contractors will have separate businesses with different names. if one is sued, they willl simply shut it down and continue working under the other business name.
The cost of legal fees, court fees, frustration, lost time from work and personal expneses may outweigh the cost of hiring someone else to fix the probelm.
Also, while I am no attorney, I do not beleive you can hire someone else and expect that the judge will make him pay. You have to afford him reasonable time and the oppurtuniity to fix the problems. ...although you may not want him back on your property
You may also wish to contact your insurance company regarding the damage. This may fall under the exclusion of flood damage.
You certainly cannot leave it as is as the flooding will continue. I am amazed that someone would grade land so the slpoe is towrads a house Water should always be directed away from the structure.
I have seen downspouts buried but they were always connected to underground pipe which connected to drains which would carry the water away from the house and discharge.
While the situation has existed for three months...the damage to the basement is recent.
Personally, I would get soneone out ASAP to regrade apppropirately to correct the flooding. It sounds like time is somthing you may not have the luxury of given the situation.
Soil errosion and moisture around a foundation for prolonged periods can compromise the building structure and lead to termite infestation.
If you wait, the damage could get worse with subsequent events. The judge may or may not award you the cost of the repairs...but the cost of futiure damage could be significant.

 

[denny80689]

We had someone come out with a transit (sp?) and check the grade yesterday. the ground at the retaining wall he installed is over 8" higher then the ground at the house. so it slopes 8" over a run of about 30 feet.
As for the downspouts they do feed into a pipe that runs off to the side of the property and keeps the water away. That seemed to be working correctly. It was all of the run off from the neighboring properties that had no where to run because of the new slope. as a result it ran up against the house.
I did more work in the basement yesterday and today and the damage isnt too bad. I pulled up the carpet and it looks like Ill need to replace all of the padding but may be able to salvage the carpet as long as I get a steam cleaner and clean it good to stop any mildew or mold. Since our neighborhood is still under construction I also was able to grab one of the guys doing the drywal and had him look at the wall to see what needs to be replaced. He seemed to think the drywall was ok because the water was just running down it. It wasnt submerged. He poked at it in a few places and said if I skim the top layer off and re seal it, it wouldnt need to be replaced... At least if I get stiffed with the repairs I can do it on a budget.
As for the furnature my big screen tv sucked water up inside the base, the couch legs were wood and pulled in water and my PC desk seems to have pulled water up the legs. Luckily the tank stand seems to have stayed dry

 

[farmboy]

Yeah, Man-Save the tank!!

 

[mudplayerx]

You need to WRITE a letter to the BBB and your attorney general explaining the situation. Once the AG gets involved, it is usually resolved pretty quickly.
The trick is to actually write letters though. They will blow you off if you just call.

 

[kimc]

Do you know if this guy has liability insurance?? You could notify his insurance company and file a claim against him for your damages.

 

[scubadoo]

Actually, the best thing you can do is call the local TV station if they have one of those consumer rip-off reporters.

 

[farmboy]

Hey, I like that one!

 

[nmocean]

This may sound really silly, but I happened to be watching People's Court today, and if your "contractor" is not licensed and you decide not to pay him, he CANNOT sue you for payment for his services, because he has already broken the law by not being licensed. Here's hoping you haven't paid him yet.
-Jen