incompetent contractor, shoddy work, & hold harmless contracts

[mandomama]

I'm not sure where to start with my question, so I'll start at the beginning and make it short.

We hired a GC in Oct 07 to build our home. After 12 months, we still were not in the dry and had found a few mistakes ($10-15,000) that could be relatively easily fixed. This is a large project ($2M+) and we realized in Dec 08 that the GC didn't have the manpower or skill to finish our very custom home. He admitted that it was too much for him and would never have taken the job had he known what it entailed. So, we parted ways, somewhat amicably. He said he needed us to sign a "Hold Harmless" contract and we agreed, not knowing what lay ahead.

We payed all his sub-contractors and his final bill and then hired a well-recommended commercial contractor. As he began to check out all the different systems of our house, he began uncovering one big problem after another. To date we have spent about $250,000 fixing all of the shoddy, half-assed work the previous GC oversaw. Today I found out that we have to tear down BOTH of the real stone fireplaces because they were not built to specs and will not draw.

I sit here absolutely furious and would love to know if there is anything that we can do.

Thanks for any help.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by mandomama

I'm not sure where to start with my question, so I'll start at the beginning and make it short.

We hired a GC in Oct 07 to build our home. After 12 months, we still were not in the dry and had found a few mistakes ($10-15,000) that could be relatively easily fixed. This is a large project ($2M+) and we realized in Dec 08 that the GC didn't have the manpower or skill to finish our very custom home. He admitted that it was too much for him and would never have taken the job had he known what it entailed. So, we parted ways, somewhat amicably. He said he needed us to sign a "Hold Harmless" contract and we agreed, not knowing what lay ahead.

We payed all his sub-contractors and his final bill and then hired a well-recommended commercial contractor. As he began to check out all the different systems of our house, he began uncovering one big problem after another. To date we have spent about $250,000 fixing all of the shoddy, half-assed work the previous GC oversaw. Today I found out that we have to tear down BOTH of the real stone fireplaces because they were not built to specs and will not draw.

I sit here absolutely furious and would love to know if there is anything that we can do.

Thanks for any help.

**A: are you even in the US?

[mandomama]

Yes, sorry, I live in Alabama.

[Stevef]

Originally Posted by mandomama

Yes, sorry, I live in Alabama.

If you've got $250,000 in damages, you need a lawyer, not internet advice. Especially not my advice.

There's no way anyone can tell what was contained in the hold-harmless contract. It may preclude you from suing him for not finishing the job, it may preclude you from suing for negligence, or it could contain any number of items in it.

Pack up the paperwork and take it to a lawyer. Start with the hold harmless agreement. That's the first thing you need looked at.

[HomeGuru]

The hold harmless letter is most likely unenforceable as one can't be forced to agree to something contrary to law. EX: if the fireplace in the home was not built to code, the GC is not off the hook, but remains liable pursuant to the contractor's licensing law.