Construction & Renovation:

Question: What should contractors in Ontario do if a customer sues them for non-payment and also claims the work was defective?

Answer: If you’re a contractor dealing with a Small Claims Court dispute in Ontario where you face a non-payment lawsuit plus a defective workmanship counterclaim, Reznik Legal Services can help as a Paralegal by reviewing your contract and scope of work, organizing payment and change-order records, assessing trade standards issues, and preparing a practical litigation plan to address quality allegations, valuation, and related claims such as unjust enrichment or failure to mitigate.   Get started with a free 1/4 hour consultation and call (416) 222-9906 to discuss your situation and learn how to optimize your next steps, evidence, and risk in a construction or renovation matter across Ontario.

Common Disputes Affecting Contractors

Court disputes between a property owner and a contractor hired for a construction or renovation project frequently arise.  In some courts, especially the Small Claims Court, cases involving contractors and homeowners are prevalent.  In such cases it is common that a property owner will accuse a contractor of poor quality work; and in turn, the contractor accuses the property owner of failure of payment.

Challenges

Construction law cases can be very challenging to litigate due to the extent of laws involves as well as the extent of evidence usually involved and the need for independent witnesses to inspect and provide expert reports as to what constitutes as proper workmanship and thus whether the trade standards or the contractual specifications for the project were met, valuation of the portion of work properly completed, among other things; and accordingly, even the seasoned legal professional may find construction law cases as burdensome to litigate.  These cases are often extra challenging and troublesome due to the conduct of the parties involved and breach of various legal duties occuring prior to the obtaining legal advice.

Additionally, litigation arising from construction or renovation disputes often extends into legal issues beyond allegations of poor quality of work and also include legal issues such as quantum meruit disputes over the value of partially completed work, consumer rights concerns, mitigation requirements, among other issues.