What evidence do I need to sue a licensed handyman?

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What evidence do I need to sue a licensed handyman?

I saved my emails in which I hired this man to install base boards in my hallway, as well as moving my light switches in my bedroom that was blocking by my new headboard. He did a bad job on the light switch. It’s a 3-way switch meaning there’s an on/off switch and then next to that is an on/off switch with a dimmer. All he was doing was moving the switches about 5 inches higher. I paid him $85 for 2 hours of labor. It’s not much but it’s about the principal. I can’t get the on/off switch to work properly. It worked fine before he messed it up.

Asked on December 23, 2014 under Business Law, California

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 9 years ago | Contributor

If you have your testimony that the switch does not work after the contractor installed it, that testimony could be enough to show that the work was unprofessionally negligent (careless) or breached the contract (by not doing the work he was paid to do). However, all you could recover would be either what you paid him ($85) or, if you have someone fix the switch, the cost to fix. It is not likely that legal action would be worthwhile.


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