{"id":899474,"date":"2022-01-11T11:50:50","date_gmt":"2022-01-11T18:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=899474"},"modified":"2022-01-11T11:51:22","modified_gmt":"2022-01-11T18:51:22","slug":"construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/","title":{"rendered":"No License, No Contract, No Claim"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jeffrey MacHarg | Fox Rothschild LLP<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can an unlicensed general contractor enforce a construction contract<\/a> in North Carolina? \u201cNo,\u201d and as Judge Conrad explains, \u201c[t]his is an unyielding rule.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JCG & Associates, LLC vs. Disaster America USA, LLC<\/em>,\u00a02021 NCBC Order 76\u00a0(N.C. Super. Ct. Dec. 9, 2021) involved a dispute between several Brunswick county homeowners and an unlicensed general contractor, Disaster America USA, over home restoration work in the wake of Hurricane Florence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initial contracts were between the homeowners and Disaster America USA, who was not a licensed general contractor in NC.  Those contracts were later assigned to affiliate, Disaster America NC, which did have a general contractor\u2019s license.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After delays and disagreements, the homeowners terminated the contracts and sued Disaster America USA for negligence, fraud, unfair\/deceptive trade practices, and constructive fraud.  They also sought a declaration that the contracts were illegal and unenforceable because Disaster America USA was never licensed as a general contractor. Assignee, Disaster America NC, counterclaimed against the homeowners for breach of contract and quantum meruit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this order, Judge Conrad decided the homeowners\u2019 motion for partial summary judgment. In North Carolina, a party who contracts to perform construction services valued over $30,000 must have a general contractor\u2019s license.  N.C. Gen. Stat. \u00a7 87-1. The homeowners argued that their contracts with Disaster America USA were illegal and unenforceable because Disaster America USA was never licensed, and this illegality could not be cured by assigning the contract to a properly licensed entity.  As a result, the homeowners sought summary judgment on assignee Disaster America NC\u2019s contract-based claims for breach and quantum meruit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disaster America advanced a series of arguments to try to get around Section 87-1\u2019s licensure requirements.  Judge Conrad rejected all of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disaster America USA first claimed it had permission to use the license of licensed general contractor, JCG & Associates, LLC, pointing out that each of the contracts cleverly listed \u201cDISASTER AMERICA USA, LLC\/JCG & ASSOCIATES, LLC\u201d as the general contractor. Putting aside the fact that JCG & Associates (a co-plaintiff) denied even knowing who Disaster America USA was, Judge Conrad rejected this argument, explaining that the contracting party \u201cmust be licensed,\u201d and the contracts were with Disaster America USA, not JCG & Associates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disaster America then argued that it didn\u2019t need a license under Section 87-1 because these were not construction contracts.  Judge Conrad called this argument \u201cmeritless.\u201d  Id. <\/em>\u00b6 19.  The contracts were titled \u201cConstruction Agreements\u201d and described things like roof removal, roofing, siding, trim, and other services that were clearly construction work.  Judge Conrad concluded that \u201c[w]ithout question,\u201d Section 87-1 applied and required a general contractor\u2019s license for this type of work.  Id.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, Disaster America USA argued that any illegality was cured when Disaster America USA assigned these contracts to a licensed entity, Disaster America NC.  Citing several cases, Judge Conrad held that the illegal and defective contracts \u201ccannot be validated by the contractor\u2019s subsequent procurement of a license.\u201d  Id. <\/em>\u00b6 16.  Likewise, assignment to a licensed contractor \u201cdoes not cure the illegal contract.\u201d  Id.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, Judge Conrad relied on the \u201cunyielding\u201d rule that a contract entered into by an unlicensed contractor is illegal and unenforceable by the contractor, and he entered judgment in the homeowners\u2019 favor on Disaster America NC\u2019s breach and quantum meruit claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Takeaway<\/strong>: When it comes to performing work as a general contractor, North Carolina\u2019s licensure requirements are \u201cunyielding.\u201d  If you don\u2019t have a proper license, you don\u2019t have an enforceable contract, and you have no claim.  No license, no contract, no claim.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jeffrey MacHarg | Fox Rothschild LLP Can an unlicensed general contractor enforce a construction contract in North Carolina? \u201cNo,\u201d and as Judge Conrad explains, \u201c[t]his is an unyielding rule.\u201d JCG & Associates, LLC vs. Disaster America USA, LLC,\u00a02021 NCBC Order 76\u00a0(N.C. Super. Ct. Dec. 9, 2021) involved a dispute between several Brunswick county homeowners and… Continue reading No License, No Contract, No Claim<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[9895,224,11,9130],"class_list":["post-899474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-contracts","tag-advise-consult","tag-construction-contract","tag-insurance-claim","tag-unlicensed-contractors","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nNo License, No Contract, No Claim - Advise & Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Can an unlicensed general contractor enforce a construction contract? \u201cNo,\u201d and as Judge Conrad explains, \u201c[t]his is an unyielding rule.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"No License, No Contract, No Claim - Advise & Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Can an unlicensed general contractor enforce a construction contract? \u201cNo,\u201d and as Judge Conrad explains, \u201c[t]his is an unyielding rule.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Advise & Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-01-11T18:50:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-01-11T18:51:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@adviseconsult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@adviseconsult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\"},\"headline\":\"No License, No Contract, No Claim\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-11T18:50:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-01-11T18:51:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/\"},\"wordCount\":626,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Advise & Consult\",\"Construction Contract\",\"insurance claim\",\"Unlicensed Contractors\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Construction Contracts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/\",\"name\":\"No License, No Contract, No Claim - Advise & Consult, Inc.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-11T18:50:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-01-11T18:51:22+00:00\",\"description\":\"Can an unlicensed general contractor enforce a construction contract? \u201cNo,\u201d and as Judge Conrad explains, \u201c[t]his is an unyielding rule.\u201d\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Advise & Consult, Inc.\",\"description\":\"Construction Expert Witnesses\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Advise & Consult\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png\",\"width\":162,\"height\":75,\"caption\":\"Advise & Consult\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/adviseconsult\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/204526\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MrConstructionExpert\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.expertwitnessinconstruction.com\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"No License, No Contract, No Claim - Advise & Consult, Inc.","description":"Can an unlicensed general contractor enforce a construction contract? \u201cNo,\u201d and as Judge Conrad explains, \u201c[t]his is an unyielding rule.\u201d","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"No License, No Contract, No Claim - Advise & Consult, Inc.","og_description":"Can an unlicensed general contractor enforce a construction contract? \u201cNo,\u201d and as Judge Conrad explains, \u201c[t]his is an unyielding rule.\u201d","og_url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/","og_site_name":"Advise & Consult, Inc.","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","article_published_time":"2022-01-11T18:50:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-01-11T18:51:22+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@adviseconsult","twitter_site":"@adviseconsult","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7"},"headline":"No License, No Contract, No Claim","datePublished":"2022-01-11T18:50:50+00:00","dateModified":"2022-01-11T18:51:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/"},"wordCount":626,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Advise & Consult","Construction Contract","insurance claim","Unlicensed Contractors"],"articleSection":["Construction Contracts"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/","name":"No License, No Contract, No Claim - Advise & Consult, Inc.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-01-11T18:50:50+00:00","dateModified":"2022-01-11T18:51:22+00:00","description":"Can an unlicensed general contractor enforce a construction contract? \u201cNo,\u201d and as Judge Conrad explains, \u201c[t]his is an unyielding rule.\u201d","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/construction-contract-unlicensed-contractor\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/","name":"Advise & Consult, Inc.","description":"Construction Expert Witnesses","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Advise & Consult","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png","width":162,"height":75,"caption":"Advise & Consult"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","https:\/\/x.com\/adviseconsult","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/204526\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MrConstructionExpert"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.expertwitnessinconstruction.com"]}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2ztG6-3LZE","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899474"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":899475,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899474\/revisions\/899475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}