Home Construction Disputes

When a home project goes wrong.

A kitchen half finished. A contractor who stopped showing up. A homeowner who won't pay the last invoice. Home construction fights are personal, expensive, and governed by their own Maine law.

The Maine Home Construction Contract Act

In Maine, any home construction contract for more than $3,000 in materials or labor must be in writing and signed by both sides. The law also requires certain terms, including the price, payment schedule, start and completion dates, a warranty statement, and how changes and disputes will be handled. A down payment generally can't exceed one-third of the price.

When a contract breaks these rules, the law treats that as evidence of an unfair trade practice. That can change the whole shape of a dispute, for either side.

Who I help

  • Homeowners facing defective work, abandoned jobs, cost overruns, or a contractor who took a deposit and disappeared
  • Contractors who haven't been paid, or who face claims they believe are unfair
  • Both sides who want to settle before it becomes a lawsuit

What I do

  1. Review the contract, change orders and payments against what Maine law requires.
  2. Tell you plainly where you stand and what it's worth.
  3. Negotiate, mediate, or file suit when that's the right move.
  4. See it through to payment, repair, or a clean break.

How these cases usually go

  1. Send me the paper. The contract, every change order, every payment, the texts and emails, and photos of the work. A case review starts there.
  2. The statute check. I go through the contract against the Act's required terms. Missing terms, an oversized deposit, or no written contract at all changes the leverage immediately.
  3. The demand. Maine's Unfair Trade Practices Act requires a written demand at least 30 days before a suit for damages. A demand letter that lays out the violations and the number often ends the matter.
  4. Negotiation or mediation. Many contracts require mediation or arbitration before a lawsuit. If yours does, I use it. If it doesn't, I still try to settle where that beats the cost of a fight.
  5. Suit. District or Superior Court, depending on the amount and whether a jury matters. Discovery, an expert when the quality of the work is in dispute, and trial if it comes to that.
  6. Collection. A judgment against a contractor is only worth what you collect. I pursue liens, executions and disclosure hearings until the money moves.

Questions I get

My contract was verbal. Do I have a case? Possibly a better one than you think. For jobs over $3,000, the law puts the writing requirement on the contractor. No written contract is itself evidence of an unfair trade practice.

The contractor took a big deposit and did almost nothing. The Act limits the down payment to one-third of the contract price. If you paid more, that's a violation on top of the breach. Deposits are recoverable, and I've obtained judgments against contractors who kept them.

Can I get my attorney's fees? If the court finds an unfair trade practice, the law provides for reasonable attorney's fees and costs. That's one reason the statute check matters so much.

I'm a contractor and the homeowner won't pay. What are my deadlines? Short ones. If you worked under a contract with the owner, you have 120 days from the last labor or materials to file a lien action. If you worked for a general contractor rather than the owner, you also have to record a lien statement within 90 days. Call before those windows close.

The work is bad but the contractor says it meets code. The warranty the Act requires covers faulty materials, workmanship and code compliance. An independent inspection usually settles who's right.

How much will this cost me? Less than the project did, usually. We'll talk about what the dispute is worth, what the fight will cost, and whether a demand letter can do most of the work.

When I say no

If the amount in dispute is small enough for small claims court, I'll tell you to go there and I'll tell you how. If the contract was fair and the work was fine and you just want out of paying, I'm not your lawyer.

Send me your contract and tell me what happened. Call (207) 373-9302 or use the contact button below.

Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case depends on its own facts.