Alan Secures Highly Favorable Settlement for Homeowner
In what turned out to be a terrific result, Alan recently settled a lawsuit brought by a client whose billing practices were violative of Massachusetts law.
Alan’s client hired a contractor to renovate a two-family home. The contractor charged the client on a “time and materials” basis; every other week the contractor sent a bill to the client for time spent on the job and materials. Such contracts are per se unlawful under Chapter 93A, the Massachusetts law protecting consumers from unfair businesses; contractors who re found to violate this law are required to pay damages and attorney’s fees.
When the client felt she was being overcharged, the contractor left the project and promptly put a mechanics lien on the client’s property. The client hired Alan and he subsequently sued the contractor. Without having to conduct any discovery in the case, the case settled for about 8 percent of the total amount claimed to be owed by the contractor.
During settlement negotiations, Alan provided the contractor’s attorney with a copy of the decision rendered by a judge in another client’s favor approximately two years earlier, in which a different contractor had been found to have violated Chapter 93A. The contractor’s attorney in this new case acknowledged that the decision in the prior case negatively influenced his client’s view of his prospect for success.
