Sure, a subcontractor can use deposit money for other projects. But if the subcontractor on a construction project defaults on the subcontract and the general contractor finds out, the general contractor can sue the subcontractor for an unfair trade practice lawsuit. This means the Court may make you pay compensatory damages, plus attorney’s fees and punitive damages. You will need an attorney to defend your company, which will just cost your business more money. Your Subcontract May Tell You Whether You Can Use Deposit Money For Other Projects The first place you should look to answer this qu ..read more

Yes, because it can affect a court’s analysis as to the balance of equities between protecting an employer’s legitimate business interests and a former employee’s right (and need) to earn a living.  The case I discuss here found that enforcing a non-compete (leading the former employees to be unemployed) would “be greater than necessary” to protect the employers legitimate business interest; mainly because the agreement also contained a non-solicit agreement, which the Court did enforce. An international pandemic that has left millions unemployed, and shuttered businesses, is inextri ..read more

YES! Well, Almost Yes. You’re safer if you think yes, your contract must strictly comply with certain parts of Connecticut’s Home Improvement Act.  You’re probably like, yea I knew that.  It must have the start and completion date and must provide a notice of cancellation in duplicate (among other things!).  That’s easy you say because you can just copy the language from the statute itself. The law NEVER MAKES THINGS EASY.  Trust me, you’ll want to read on. How many of you think that the words in the notice of cancellation don’t have to be exact? How many of you think if yo ..read more

When a minority member of a Connecticut LLC is oppressed, the legal standard Connecticut applies is called the “reasonable expectations” standard.  This looks at the reasonable expectations of the minority member who claims he/she is being oppressed by the majority member. I first wrote about the new Connecticut case that adopts that standard, here.  There you can find out what “oppression” means generally when it comes to owners of a corporation or limited liability company. Let’s take another look at that case which decided whether minority member oppression by a majority member ca ..read more

Yes, you can. You can even force someone to buy your house if you prove certain things, just like any other lawsuit. Unlike other lawsuits however, such as car accident cases for example, here you don’t  sue for money, you sue for equitable relief.  Equitable relief means, in fairness, the only thing a court can do is exercise its power to force someone to do something.  When it comes to selling or buying real estate, the law calls it “specific performance” because the judge forces someone to specifically perform their obligations under a contract. With homes in rural Connecticu ..read more

Do I have to meet my contract’s completion date with what’s going on? I am going to resist the urge to give the typical lawyer answer, “it depends.”  It does, but with what is going on right now, don’t worry about completing it, even though construction is considered an “essential business” under Governor Lamont’s order.  No customer should sue a home improvement contractor for not meeting a completion date during this COVID-19 or any other pandemic unless there is, in my opinion, some health-related emergency.  Like you were finishing the customer’s only bathroom and they do no ..read more

You’re a small business owner who provides a service; maybe you’re a contractor, landscaper or own a bakery. You have built a strong reputation in your community by word of mouth and quality work.  It doesn’t matter what type of small business you own, you can still become a victim of a scathing negative review from a customer.  Bad reviews, whether true or not, can hurt your reputation and damage your bottom line. If they are false, and damage your business, you can sue them for libel, among other things.  But the decision to sue even a former customer should not be made lightl ..read more

Equifax’s handling of its recent data breach has drawn significant criticism, and for good reason. Some of the criticism was aimed at three executives who dumped 1.8 million dollars’ worth of stock before Equifax publicly disclosed the breach. Equifax seems to be in the most hot water over its attempt to force harmed consumers to agree to arbitrate claims arising out of the security breach by sneaking it into the website that provided consumers with an answer to whether or not their personally identifiable information was compromised and when they signed up for credit monitoring. Man ..read more

Wow. Just when you think our courts are becoming more business friendly, the Connecticut Supreme Court issues a decision on whether businesses can enforce oral contracts. The answer for Homemaker Companion Agencies is a resounding “no.” This isn’t too surprising because, similar to home improvement agreements which must be in writing and signed by the homeowner, contracts between consumers and agencies that provide homecare services must also be in writing and signed by the consumer. There are other examples, including agreements to sell a piece of real estate, and loans over $50,000, which fo ..read more

Connecticut Contractors beware, that cartoon was reality for one of your peers, and cost him a ton of money.  A recent Connecticut Supreme Court decision (meaning it’s the law of the state) took away a contractor’s $214,039 court judgment it had won for services it had performed for a homeowner. You can read the decision here. We’ve blogged about home improvement contractor laws here and here. Bottom line is you must ignore the voices in your head that tell you “you don’t need a written agreement” or “none of my contractor friends use agreements.” If you don’t use an a ..read more