Monterey Park Construction Dispute Lawyers

Construction Dispute Law in California

When a property owner and a general contractor contract for a construction project to take place on some property in Monterey Park, California, whether it's a house, some landscaping, or a remodeling project, there is always a gamble that something can go wrong. In fact, at least a very minor setback may be more likely than not.

Most often, the owners of land and contractors can end disagreements before they get too serious, thus eliminating the need for litigation. Most contracts governing construction projects have built-in remedies for the most common problems, typically requiring the party that causes a delay or other problem to pay the other party a set fee.

Even if the parties can't easily resolve their disputes, and someone else needs to intervene, that somebody doesn't always need to be a judge or jury. Many construction disagreements call for mediation, during which a neutral third party helps the parties to the dispute negotiate a settlement. They might also go through arbitration, during which a third party renders a binding decision.

Because of the large cost in time and money involved, litigation in Monterey Park, California is regarded a last resort. However, in rare cases, it does become necessary.

Examples of Construction Disputes That Might Lead to Litigation in Monterey Park, California

Delays: Some minor delays in a construction project are all but guaranteed to occur. Typically, if contracts require a specific completion date, the contractor will give itself longer than the project would take under ideal circumstances, to account for possible delays. Moreover, construction contracts usually attempt to insure against delays, such as imposing fees on contractors if the project is delayed beyond a certain point. If no such clause is included in a contract, a court will usually award the client damages that could have been reasonably anticipated at the time the contract was entered into.

Owner's refusal to pay: if the contractor finishes a project to specifications, and the owner of the property doesn't pay the contractor, the contractor will most likely file a lawsuit to recover the agreed-upon price. In such cases, the owner will typically argue that the contractor's work wasn't of acceptable quality. In these cases, the court must decide who first breached the contract. In these cases, it's the party who did not breach first who wins the lawsuit. If the court finds that the contractor breached the contract through sub-quality work product, the owner will not be responsible for payment (though he may have to pay for materials and labor), and if the court finds that the construction was acceptable, the owner has to pay, because he is the party in breach.

Subcontractors: Subcontractors are hired by general contractors to assist them in large construction projects, typically specialized tasks like installing plumbing. Nonetheless, no matter how much of the work is performed by subcontractors, the general contractor (the one that the client actually hired to do the project) is liable to the landowner as if it were doing all the work itself. This essentially means that, if a subcontractor messes up, the general contractor is the one who gets sued. But all is not lost in such a situation. If the general contractor has to compensate the owner because of the mistakes of a subcontractor, it can sue the subcontractor for whatever it had to pay to the landowner.

Mechanic's Liens: A mechanic's lien is a way for a contractor to secure payment if a landowner declines to pay. In such cases, if the contractor sues and wins, he or she can sometimes impose a mechanic's lien on the property he or she just worked on. This permits the contractor to force a sale of the property to cover the judgment. It is usually used when other attempts to secure payment fail.

Can a Monterey Park, California Attorney Help?

If you have a construction dispute, you should first try to resolve it amicably with the other party. If this fails, it is almost always imperative to hire a Monterey Park, California construction disputes attorney, who can advise you on the next steps in the process.

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Life in Monterey Park

Monterey Park, California is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is about 10 miles to the east of Downtown Los Angeles, putting it well within the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It currently has a population of over 60,000 people.

Monterey Park, California was founded in the mid-1800s. It began to grow heavily in the 1970s, when large numbers of affluent Asian-American families began to move to the area. The city is sometimes nicknamed "Little Taipei," because of the large number of individuals of Taiwanese descent living in the city. In this time period, many businesses from Chinatown in Los Angeles began to open locations in Monterey Park, which provided a major boost to the local economy.

The economy of Monterey Park, California is based heavily on education and retail. The largest employer in the city is East Los Angeles College, part of California's community college system. This college employs nearly 2,000 people, and educates thousands of students every year, preparing many of them to go on to four-year universities. Some of these students go on to become successful Monterey Park, California attorneys.

If you are in need of legal advice in Monterey Park, California, there are plenty of lawyers in Monterey Park who can help you with whatever legal problem you might face.

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Monterey Park Construction Dispute Lawyers

Construction Dispute Law in California

Examples of Construction Disputes That Might Lead to Litigation in Monterey Park, California