October 1, 2013:

After a four day arbitration hearing before the American Arbitration Association, the Law Offices of Joshua N. Garick obtained a $149,515.54 verdict in a home improvement contractor dispute on behalf of its homeowner clients. The arbitrator’s decision was entered and confirmed as a Judgment in the Norfolk County Superior Court.

In this dispute, the homeowners claimed numerous issues with the contractor’s performance. The contractor misled the homeowners by falsely claiming that materials he installed were custom made. The contractor installed used materials and attempted to pass them off as new materials. The contractor, who held himself out to be a skilled cabinet maker, purchased prefabricated materials and used a burn stamp to deceive the homeowners into believing he manufactured these materials himself. As the project continued, what should have been a five month job extended well beyond 16 months. The contractor abandoned the job and attempted to leverage partial completion of the job to obtain additional payment from the homeowners. This ploy was successful as the homeowners fronted an additional $48,000.00 to the contractor to get him to finish the job.  Again the contractor failed to perform.

The homeowners initiated arbitration proceedings against the contractor alleging fraud, violations of the Home Improvement Contractor Law (M. G. L. c. 142A, §§ 1, et seq.), various contract and warranty claims, and violations of the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act (M. G. L. c. 93A §§ 1, et seq.). The arbitration returned a verdict of $149,515.54 in favor of the homeowners and against the contractor.