Ask Me Help Desk - Steps for disputing contractor bill in OKLAHOMA

Hi all,

I'm not an attorney but I have some legal knowledge, much of it Federal and not pertaining to this state. My mother hired a contractor, licensed by state or not I am not sure, to replace the flooring in a smaller room and some of the floor joists in her rental house. As far as I am aware she signed nothing beforehand and was given a verbal quote much less than the ridiculous $4000 bill she has now received (the hours don't come close to adding up to the agreed hourly wages). My question is in this state (Ok) what are the best legal steps to take on the way to small claims to give these people a chance to come down on their bill before she or I have to go spend the time in court as we are both very busy people and she travels extensively in her job.

I am prepared to send a Notice of Dispute etc, but as this state and town are pretty much cowboy towns, (I can't even find a state operated contractor licensing board for this state and they're probably not registered anyway), it seems as if small claims may be in order. Does any knowledgeable adjudicator or law practitioner out there have a suggestion on the best way to go after these people? They're pretty much crooks and liars out here and I would prefer to whittle away at them before a court operation as it would narrow down to hearsay most likely and most judges here are partial and have conflicts of interest as many citizens of OK are prescient of anyway. Maybe just scaring them into a more acceptable bill as this is what they are trying to do to my mother.

Suggestions anyone?

Quote:

Originally Posted by okiedokie123

Hi all,

I'm not an attorney but I have some legal knowledge, much of it Federal and not pertaining to this state. My mother hired a contractor, licensed by state or not I am not sure, to replace the flooring in a smaller room and some of the floor joists in her rental house. As far as I am aware she signed nothing beforehand and was given a verbal quote much less than the ridiculous $4000 bill she has now received (the hours don't come close to adding up to the agreed hourly wages). My question is in this state (Ok) what are the best legal steps to take on the way to small claims to give these people a chance to come down on their bill before she or I have to go spend the time in court as we are both very busy people and she travels extensively in her job.

I am prepared to send a Notice of Dispute etc, but as this state and town are pretty much cowboy towns, (I can't even find a state operated contractor licensing board for this state and they're probably not registered anyway), it seems as if small claims may be in order. Does any knowledgeable adjudicator or law practitioner out there have a suggestion on the best way to go after these people? They're pretty much crooks and liars out here and I would prefer to whittle away at them before a court operation as it would narrow down to hearsay most likely and most judges here are partial and have conflicts of interest as many citizens of OK are prescient of anyway. Maybe just scaring them into a more acceptable bill as this is what they are trying to do to my mother.

Suggestions anyone?

I don't understand why you don't simply take them to Small Claims Court without wasting time writing letters and reporting them. Crooks/liars/unfair Judges aside, that's the Court and Town you're going to end up in when all is said and done, anyway.

It will be their word vs your mother's word concerning the number of hours worked, the initial quote, any other issues.

Has your mother paid and is now asking for a refund or hasn't she paid? If she HASN'T paid I would get to the Courthouse before they do. In theory there's no advantage to being the Plaintiff. In fact I think there is.

Make an offer in compromise and see what happens - if they have not been paid.

I was starting to suggest that she wait to be sued, but then I remembered that since this was work done on real estate, the contractor could file a mechanics lien agaionst the property without going to court.

So I think you do need to be proactive and file first to preclude that happening.

Thank you both for your replies, it seems that we all see the same options, I was hoping for something with more of a social engineering bent as the legal system here is a joke and the judges are a laughingstock of corruption (you should search for Oklahoma judge and penis pump in Google for a laugh). Pretty much going to a judge is the last thing anyone wants to do here, especially in these hick counties where we are. As far as my mother is concerned she works as a travelling nurse and is booked solid 3-6 months ahead at any given time for jobs in any given state and as for myself I already have a distastful reputation for "stirring up the pot" in some previous legal situations where I have taken on corrupt cops/sheriffs in the area. I like to think of the local judges as a hickish version of Jabba the Hutt and if anything I'm being kind (seriously, Google Oklahoma judge corruption... lol). In any case they're hard to respect after living internationally and on both the east and west coasts and seeing actual jurisprudence in action. Especially after a judge here put out a contract on my life for questioning himand disrupting their local meth operations. (I only wish I was making this up).

I advised my mother not to make any payment as yet to keep from an inadvertent admittance of "guilt" or what have you but this one would be hard to carry through in person, call it a failure of the justice system and schedule. The local cop's idea of law enforcement is to kick in your door, throw your pregnant wife down and attempt to throw you in jail all the while claiming "exigency" for lack of any real reason, even when you're the one who needs the assistance. You can see why I might be inclined to try anything to stay out of the courts as they tend to punish you for even taking their time. I don't mean to tell my life's story here, but I am searching for anything better than going to court and would also not like to resort to the good ole boy network to "change" this contractor's mind, even if him and I are the only people who know he violated his agreement.

Still open to anything anyone would suggest and thanks again for the replies, even a confirmation of what I was thinking is a help.

I see no options - if your mother doesn't pay there will be a lien placed against her property and she will be sued.

Court is your only option.

As far as the rest of your post - move to another City or State.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

I see no options - if your mother doesn't pay there will be a lien placed against her property and she will be sued.

Court is your only option.

As far as the rest of your post - move to another City or State.

Welp, we sure do have a preacher and choir situation. Not that I don't appreciate the advice, it's exactly what I would say, honestly I'm only back in town because I just saved her from another nightmare, left law school and all to do it but unfortunately this woman cannot stay out of trouble. Can anyone say for sure that there are lien laws against the real estate in this state? I ask only because OK has some of the craziest twists and problems I've ever heard of, lawyers here are buddies of judges and nothing else, the judiciary angle is dead as far as they are concerned. She's currently attempting to find representation to begin legal proceedings mixed bag that it is, but it's hard to say what a good case/evidence would be and if it could even possibly be effective against such a stacked deck. And yes, I've counseled her to leave the state many times to no avail. The most stubborn woman alive perhaps.

Thanks for the input, anyone else have anything to add?

On another note, can anyone give advice on dragging this thing out in the court system as long as possible; seeing as time can only be on our side in this thing... Assuming of course probable self-representation as opposed to billable hours?