[Greenbuilding] firing a roofer, preventing mold, etc

[Speireag Alden]

Sgrìobh Ben Pratt:

>-I did a license search online, and there was nothing under the
>company name. i stopped payment on the check (which he hadn't cashed).

     Good move.

>Protecting my property and my family:
>If he's insured, can i just pay him for the materials and tell him to
>not come back? Then pay him for work that doesn't have to be redone
>after i have settled a claim?
>-Should i call the guy tomorrow or wait until he shows up monday?

     Wait until he shows.  Have another witness there.  If you call 
him, he has time to think about things, and to show up when you 
aren't expecting him.

>-If he is not insured, do i have the right to keep the remaining 
>materials as compensation for the damage done?

     That's a good question for a civil attorney.  At first blush, 
whoever owns the materials gets to keep them.  If he bought them, 
then he owns them.  If you did, then you do.

>- Do i need to stay home monday and protect my house and my wife family?

     I would.

>-Do i hide his trailer until i know i am safe?

     If it belongs to him, then that may be theft.  In New Hampshire, 
theft is "exercising unauthorized control over the property of 
another".  You can't withhold a final paycheck, for instance, until 
you get tools back.  But you *can* file a theft report on the tools 
when they don't turn them in (assuming for the sake of this scenario 
that you own them).

     However, criminal case law and the elements of a given crime vary 
from state to state, and interpretation can vary within a state.

     Personally, I'd separate what's mine from what's his, and then be 
on hand when he arrives, to tell him to take his stuff and to tell 
him that he's not taking yours.

>What else should i do?

     Once he has his own property, tell him that he is no longer 
welcome on your property, forever, and that if he does come on your 
property, you will call the police and have him charged with 
trespassing.  Ideally, hand a letter to him which says that, and keep 
a copy for yourself, so that if you have to charge him, you can 
provide the police with a copy of exactly what he was told.

     Keep a log.  The account you gave us is a good start.  Flesh it 
out, including dates and times and all contacts you had with him.

     Photographic evidence is key.  Few things sway a judge or a jury 
better.  Document every damn thing you do, everything you have to 
repair, every bit of damage you find, before you touch it.

     Keep samples of the materials you remove.  Enough for a quart jar 
for each one, and some of the packaging, lining, bags, or whatnot. 
If you need to test later for asbestos or lead paint, you can do so.

     Call your local courthouse and ask about small claims.  Most 
jurisdictions have an upper limit of $500 to perhaps a few thousand 
dollars, after which you have to go through the usual legal process. 
It sounds like he probably doesn't have a pot to piss in, but you 
never know.

     Call the local police and ask about negligence.  In criminal 
court, you have to prove things beyond a reasonable doubt, but you 
may be able to prove that you entrusted your property to him and he 
deliberately disregarded its safety.  You can almost certainly prove 
it in civil court, where the standard is preponderance of the 
evidence (51% in your favor).  The problem is collecting from him, 
and whether he has anything to collect.

     If your area requires licensure, then you may also be able to get 
him charged by your local building code enforcers, for doing business 
without a license.

     Most of this you can decide after the fact.  You can't go back 
and take pictures or keep samples, though.  Start doing that now.

-Speireag.

-- 
Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the 
injury that provokes it.
--Lucius Annaeus Seneca, philosopher (BCE 3-65 CE)