SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION

What is completion? In this case, substantial evidence supported the trial court’s findings regarding project completion date. That is the time when everything is completed.

Completion in a construction case is very important. Actual completion means the project is complete. This does not mean that all monies have been paid. Only that the job is complete.

The trial court made a finding regarding the project completion date even though the homeowner took occupancy prior to that date because the owner did not yet have full use of the facilities at the time. That is to say that the owner was not able to use the entire project at that time and therefore the project was not complete.

CONTRACTORS' STATE LICENSE BOARD

The Contractors' State License Board is the agency that controls the Board and its operations.

The Contractors' State License Board is governed by a body of nine contractors, and others, as part of their agenda. The Registrar of contractors, Steve Sands, is the Chief Executive Officer.

The Contractors' State License Board has three or four separate entities. The ones that run it are its senior staff. The Board is made up of nine senior staff. The senior staff is Cindi Christenson, Chief Deputy Registrar; Mike Brown, Chief of Legislation; Jonathan Buttle, Budget Analyst; Amy Cox O'Farrell, Chief of Information Technology; Dave Fogt, Chief of Enforcement; Rick Lopes, Chief of Public Affairs; Karen Ollinger, Chief of Licensing; Larry Parrott, Chief of Administration; and Bob Porter, Chief of Testing.

The job of the Contractors' State License Board is to protect consumers.

The Board Members at the Contractors' State License Board right now are:

Edward "Eddie" Barnes, Chair
Robert Lamb
Robert Brown
Joan Hancock
Matthew Kelly
Louise Kirkbride
Ed Lang
Lisa Miller-Strunk
Bruce Rust

The Contractors' State License Board website is a great source of information www.cslb.ca.gov. Their address is 9821 Business Park Drive, Sacramento, CA 95827. 1-800-321-CSLB (2752).

INSPECTIONS BY CAL/OSHA

All contractors should be prepared for an inspection. This happens quite often. You should train your staff on how to respond.

Make sure that your prevention program is organized and up to date. Do not fumble in front of the the inspector.

Inspections can target high-hazard businesses with loss rates at or above what is normally expected. A complaint might also trigger an inspection.

Make sure your security people know what to do if an inspection comes around. Have someone with some real understanding available to help you. The inspectors will not help you.

Don't be rude. Be friendly. However, do not give away the store. After the inspectors do what they need to do, you should make sure that you get an indication of what the inspector is asking for. Most of all make sure of what you will say and have said.

FRAUDULENT FILING FEE REQUESTS (Cont.)

Other warning signs of fraudulent letters sent to business owners by the bad guys regarding the California Corporations Code filing are:

• References or quotes to Corporation Code sections inapplicable to the type of entity being solicited, such as Code sections applicable to corporations when soliciting a limited liability company;
• References an "annual fee" or "annual payment" rather than a filing fee and that is far in excess of the filing fee for a Statement of Information;
• Indicates the submitted information will be treated as private and confidential.

We are all working hard to keep customers happy. Customers are our life blood.

Here is some official information for any business receiving one of these letters: Statement of Information forms and instructions are available through the Secretary of State's website here http://www.sos.ca.gov/business, and the fee required to file the Statement is $25 for California stock and foreign corporation, and $20 for California nonprofit corporations and all limited liability companies.

Fraudulent Filing Fee Requests

A new pattern of criminal activity raised its ugly head in California. The Attorney General won a $1.2 million award against rip-off artists. Everybody should keep an eye out for that.

The rip-off revolves around a deceptive letter sent by the bad guys, encouraging businesses to comply with their California Corporations Code filing obligations. The bad guys sent a deceptive letter which suggested that the businesses comply with their California Corporations Code obligations by submitting substantial fees to the third party.

This was reversed by the court. The court held that the defendants omission caused the plaintiff to file an untimely claim by the delay.

The letter is often characterized by the following:

• Appears similar to a Secretary of State form (generally the Statement of Information form), containing an official-looking seal;
• Implies that failing to return the form and pay the requested fee may place the business in legal jeopardy, or might cause the business' filings with the California Secretary of State to be in default or noncompliant status;
• Contains a reference to a "file number," "Corp Number," "Corporation Number," or "Control Number" that does not match the number assigned to the entity by the California Secretary of State;

MORE EXAMPLES AND HITS WILL BE GIVEN IN OUR NEXT BLOG

Advice For Contractors

If you are not a licensed contractor, and you are working as if you are licensed, you stand a strong chance of being caught and severely disciplined. Indeed, if you are an unlicensed contractor, and you do work for an owner, the owner can wait until you finish the project, and require you to pay back everything that you received from the owner, even though you did the work correctly. That is because what you did was illegal.

Make sure that everything that you do is in writing so that there is no dispute as to what you are supposed to do or not do.

Visit trade shows. Typically, they are free and have a great deal of information.

California Home Improvement Contractors Cover Your Rear

Conflicts happen on the jobsite. Many times the work done is not the problem on the job. As a home improvement contractor or subcontractor, protect yourself by being a good businessperson. Follow these simple hints to cover your rear:

1. Make sure that your contract is up to date. Make sure that your contract complies with the California License Law.
2. If your contract refers to the plans, make sure that your contract is very specific as to exactly what you will and will not be doing on the job with respect to the plans. Otherwise, you may end up responsible for more than you intended to do on the job if there ends up being a conflict between you and the customer.
3. Keep a copy of the signed contract. Keep it at the office in a file so that there is no risk of losing it.
4. Have the customer sign or initial each page of the contract.
5. Make sure you get everything on the job in writing, from start to finish.
6. Make sure that you receive copies of the 20-Day Preliminary Notice from each subcontractor that you hire. If you are the subcontractor, make sure you send the Notice to all of the proper parties so that you can protect your rights.
7. Keep a daily job log documenting what is being done on the job and any conversations that are had with the owner, suppliers, or other contractors. Be specific as to what work was done, if the owner requested something, such as materials delivered. Basically keep a log of anything and everything.
8. Make sure that all of your change orders are in writing and signed by your customer.
9. If you have subcontractors on the job, make sure that any of their change orders are in writing. Get written approval from the homeowner on your own change order before signing off on the subcontractors change order.
10. Make sure that progress payments are timely paid and that you get sign offs.
11. Typically, in California you have 90-days after the day you last did work on the job to file a mechanic’s lien in order to preserve your rights. After filing the lien, you then have another 90 days within which you will have to file the lawsuit. Make sure that you don’t blow your chances of collecting by not meeting statutory deadlines.

These are just general hints and you may need to make additional changes not included here.