You can give a construction contractor a job in Idaho, but there’s a chance they will end up not delivering as expected or as per your agreement in your contract, such as taking too long past the agreed-upon time. When that happens, you can ask the contractor to correct those mistakes, or you might want to fire or sue them. If you are leaning more toward suing or firing your contractor, here’s what you should know concerning commercial construction laws.
Suing or firing a contractor in Idaho
When the relationship between you and your contractor has deteriorated to a point where you don’t want them to step foot in your property again, you would want to fire them with immediate effect or even sue them for wasting your time and not delivering as you agreed. However, according to commercial construction law, Idaho Code 6-2501, you cannot just go straight to the courthouse and file to sue or fire your contractor. The law requires you to give your contractor an opportunity to repair what’s not right.
What can you do?
According to Idaho’s Notice and Opportunity to Repair Act, or NORA, before you sue or fire your contractor, you must provide a written notice explaining what they did wrong. Then, you must engage in a scripted negotiation process with an effort to correct such mistakes or come to an understanding. Failing to do this can significantly affect your case, such as if the judge dismisses you for prejudice.
If you want to sue your contractor or fire them, send them a NORA notice clearly detailing the defects and why you are not happy with their work. Your contractor must respond within 21 days of receiving the notice addressing three things, which include:
• A proposal to inspect your property within a particular time frame
• An offer to settle the issue by monetary payment without doing an inspection
• A refusal to your claim, stating that they will neither remedy your suggested defects nor offer to settle your claim
If the contractor doesn’t respond in 21 days, then you can file a lawsuit. If you don’t want them to inspect your property, you can reject their offer and then proceed to court.