I understand that a contractor can take a customer to small claims court for failure to pay a contracted job. Can the contractor file a police report for stealing, since they refuse to pay for work that was agreed upon?
Answer
It is a civil matter not a criminal one. That is not to say that criminal implications cannot be made if the facts presented supported that. For example, if you were among a whole host a contractors that provided services and went unpaid and it appears that the principals of the business enriched themselves the police and DA's office can certainly make it a criminal matter.
If you would like to discuss further over a free phone consult, feel free to contact me anytime that is convenient.
Kind regards,
Frank
www.LanternLegal.com
866-871-8655
[email protected]/* */
DISCLAIMER: this is not intended to be specific legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. No attorney-client relationship is formed on the basis of this posting.
Answer
An attempt to elevate a civil matter to a criminal proceeding is unlikely to get far. Not only are the police far too busy with serious (violent) crime to become involved in attempts to paste a criminal veneer on a civil suit, the attempt (probably) would founder in court since the element of criminal intent (probably) cannot be shown and proven.
Answer
It is highly unlikely that law enforcement would be interested in a case like this. Payment disputes with contractors rarely involve any type of criminal intent: inability to pay, poor quality workmanship, change order disputes, etc. It is nearly impossible to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that someone entered into a contract and specifically intended to obtain the "theft" of the contractor's service.
Small claims court is probably the quickest and most economical options for a situation like this.
No comments:
Post a Comment