This item involves a legal case that was decided by the Norfolk County Superior Court. The Contractor in this case was a corporation. As most people believe if you do business as a corporation you are usually protected from personal responsibility for the debts of the business - but this was not to be the case in this situation.
The corporate contractor quit in the middle of the job and the corporation filed bankruptcy. The homeowner, as a result of the breach of the contractor's agreement suffered a financial loss of more than $125,000.00. The homeowners brought a claim directly against the owner of the corporation under the Massachusetts law which requires contractors to be licensed and to name a designated person to be the responsible party for the corporate activity. As a result even though the corporation filed bankruptcy the homeowner was able to obtain a court order against the primary owner of the corporation ordering him to reimburse the homeowners for their loss in excess of $125,000.00.
My message to anyone hiring a contractor to do work on your home is to make sure they are properly licensed so that you are completely protected. My message to those of you who are in the contracting business is to be aware that even though you may be a corporation you do have personal liability to customers with whom you have contracted with.
It is my hope that this information is useful to you.
