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Warranty claim in CA, painter

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finniganps

Junior Member
I'm in CA. I had a licensed painting contractor paint the exterior of my house. A lot of my trim was cracked and I asked the painter to either sand or fill it in because it looked bad (I wanted a smooth look). This was done and he provided a three year warranty. It cracked and he came back once within the first year. Now 2 1/2 years later it is cracked again and peeling on some trim. He will NOT agree to meet with me one on one, but "dropped by" and looked at it and claims it's the grain of the wood. It is peeling in places, but he wouldn't meet with me so I couldn't show him. His warranty says " all work is warrantied for three years".

My questions are as follows:

1) Do I have to have the work "repaired" before I sue him in small claims court or and can I get three estimates and bring those to court as evidence of my damages? In other words, does the work have to be "repaired" in order for me to have a chance at prevailing?

2) Is there anything else I should bring to court besides copies of the contract and cancelled checks.

I also plan on filing a complaint with the contractors license board, but upon looking up his license I see it has recently expired. Does this have any bearing on a complaint or the case? He is still contracting out as licensed.

Thanks!
 
Last edited:


JETX

Senior Member
finniganps said:
Do I have to have the work "repaired" before I sue him in small claims court or and can I get three estimates and bring those to court as evidence of my damages? In other words, does the work have to be "repaired" in order for me to have a chance at prevailing?
Depends on the court, but generally, yes. The court might be reluctant to award you based on what you MIGHT do.... or MIGHT be damaged.

Is there anything else I should bring to court besides copies of the contract and cancelled checks.
Yep. Bring at least one QUALIFIED painting contractor to present EXPERT testimony as to the condition of the paint and that it is in fact a fault of the original painter.

I also plan on filing a complaint with the contractors license board, but upon looking up his license I see it has recently expired. Does this have any bearing on a complaint or the case?
Nope.

He is still contracting out as licensed.
Contacting the licensing agency and let them know..... to protect his new customers.
 

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