My Home sustained heavy Tornado damage 4/27/2011, The Independent Adjuster recommended a Contractor who came with him when he inspected my home. The Contractor brought 2 Hispanic men, who did not (or pretended to not speak) English. They were there to place tarps on the roof, until we could get moving on the repairs. The 2 men were afraid of heights and did not place any tacks on the tarps or properly secure the tarps down. They tied the tarps on with ropes. The tarps blew off before the next morning.
While they were at my home, placing the tarps the 2 men showed a very visible sign that they were scared to be up on the roof, The Contractor did not go up on the roof, only the 2 men. But during this time (the contractor left them at my home while he ran some other errands) when he returned, I explained to him that we had decided that due to the damage we were going to have an Engineer (the Insurance Company decided to use and Engineer) out and at that point in the claim, we were not going to make any choices on a contractor to do the repairs. So, the only work that was provided by him were the tarps. I signed an agreement allowing him to send the bill to the Insurer directly. He never sent me an invoice until over a year and a half later.
Since the tarp blew off, I hired another contractor to come out 2 days later and they secured the tarps with wood strips tacking the tarps in place and boarded the damaged windows, and their tarps remained intact for a little while allowing us to continue to negotiate the damage with the Insurer.
Now the 1st contractor is suing me for the unpaid invoice for the work that he failed to properly complete. The only invoice I received from him was over a year and a half after the date he was at my home. I am wondering if there is a time frame and any rules that need be followed before a suit can be filed to collect in Georgia.
Any answers or direction will be appreciated
While they were at my home, placing the tarps the 2 men showed a very visible sign that they were scared to be up on the roof, The Contractor did not go up on the roof, only the 2 men. But during this time (the contractor left them at my home while he ran some other errands) when he returned, I explained to him that we had decided that due to the damage we were going to have an Engineer (the Insurance Company decided to use and Engineer) out and at that point in the claim, we were not going to make any choices on a contractor to do the repairs. So, the only work that was provided by him were the tarps. I signed an agreement allowing him to send the bill to the Insurer directly. He never sent me an invoice until over a year and a half later.
Since the tarp blew off, I hired another contractor to come out 2 days later and they secured the tarps with wood strips tacking the tarps in place and boarded the damaged windows, and their tarps remained intact for a little while allowing us to continue to negotiate the damage with the Insurer.
Now the 1st contractor is suing me for the unpaid invoice for the work that he failed to properly complete. The only invoice I received from him was over a year and a half after the date he was at my home. I am wondering if there is a time frame and any rules that need be followed before a suit can be filed to collect in Georgia.
Any answers or direction will be appreciated