Mr. Sandog

I think I would be talking with a lawyer, and constructing some kind of legal documentation that has some teeth. Small claims might be able to help you if you go about it the right way. I know you're into this for more than $5,000 (the limit for small claims), but if you get an estimate (or two, or even three to be safe) for what it would take to correct the damage and it is $5K or under, then you can file a Small Claims.

I recently did this with very good results. I put a $1,000 deposit down on a place in San Diego just before I left for SEMA in Vegas last Fall. After I got back I realized it didn't have what I needed (a big enough garage and a decent yard), so I told the guy I wasn't going to get the place. He said "Cool, when I rent it out I'll give you your deposit back."

Well he got it rented it out for the exact time frame I was going to move in (the first of the month), so after about two weeks I called him and asked him what was happening with my money. He said he wasn't going to give it back, because he had to do all this extra advertising, etc. B.S., of course. So I sued him, and got almost all of my money back (I settled before court - even though I know I could have won 100% of my money, I settled for $750 just so I wouldn't have to get a suit out of storage and buy new dress shoes ).

The whole process was quite fun, and pretty easy, too - it only took me like 30 minutes to fill out the paperwork. On top of the $22 or whatever it was to file in San Diego Court, I paid an extra $35 to have him served by a San Diego County Sheriff at his place of business. I smiled many, many times as I imagined what it must have been like for him to be working with a client and have the Sheriff knock on the door in uniform and serve him with notification that he was being sued. It was just a wonderful image, one that by itself was worth $250.

Anyway, you may want to consider going around to a few REPUTABLE places and getting estimates of what it would take to fix all of your issues, both in dollars and time. Don't tell them your suing, they might jack up the price otherwise, just tell them someone screwed up and you are looking to see who can fix what's been screwed up and make it right. Then once you have 2-3 of those, approach the place with a very relaxed attitude and tell them what it's going to take to make you happy, including time frame, etc, implying that you want to take care of it this way instead of resorting to other means, but not spelling out what those means are.

You may also want to give them the alternative to just pay you what's on the middle estimate to make you go away. I mean, you don't want them to try and fix their screw-ups, do you? They've proven they're not capable of doing good work, I know I wouldn't want to have them screw up further what they've already screwed up pretty well already, right? Well, you could give them a timeframe that is possible but bordering on unreasonable, just to get them to tell you to take a hike.

Which brings me to the court thing. You should be prepared to follow through with suing them and going to court. You've shown me that you're meticulous with your recordkeeping and estimates of damage, and I bet if you present this to a judge, he/she will likely give you everything you are asking for. Judges hate scumbags just like the rest of us, and many of them enjoy giving dipsticks such as these their just desserts - in fact, that's why many people become judges in the first place (I have a friend who is a judge), as a form of community service.

I'm trying to save you some more headache and heartache, I hope you consider this as a possible avenue to pursue. Good luck!