<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mrs. Postman:
My garage roof was leaking and the company I hired to fix it came out and nailed a tarp to our perfectly good house roof. In doing this, they damaged the house roof which now has to be repaired. Because we could not match the shingles, we had to replace the entire roof on our home and garage. Insurance will pay for the garage, and insurance will pay for the damaged part of the house roof, but not for the other side which only has to be replaced because it would not match the new roof in front. I contacted the company that I hired initially to see if they would split the cost of repairing the back half of the house and they said they did not cause the damage to our roof, another company that they hired did it and I should contact that company. Until this time, I had no idea there was third company involved. I called, contracted and always dealt with the original company. Apparantly they sub-contracted this job to another company and now wants me to go to them for compensation. Is this right? Shouldn't I continue my complaint with the company I originally hired. Legally can they push me off to the third party? What type of lawyer should I contact in a case like this?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
My response:
You are absolutely correct. A basic tenet of principle / agency law is that the principle shall identify all agents he/she uses under a contract. If no such identity is made in the original contract, the beneficiary of the contract (you) may rely that it was the principle who was the only "party" who did the work. In other words, the roofing company cannot "push you off" onto someone else whom you had no idea even existed. You can go after the roofing company, alone. You should consult an attorney who is familiar with contract law.
IAAL
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[This message has been edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE (edited April 24, 2000).]
