Answers to your problems are ‘on the house’ here, so we’ll start on top with a roofing contractor that changed hands recently. When a licensed partnership breaks apart, who can put the pieces back together again before it’s too late to save? Failing to act is a decision itself, and a former contractor finds his ‘judgment’ then may have cost him more now than he ever realized…
Q: Our company recently purchased a roofing business, which is a corporation, and we would like to continue doing business under the well-established business name on their license, however we don’t want two sets of books. Because our corporation purchased the assets of the roofing company, can we keep the roofing license number and company name the same while operating under our existing corporation?
A: In the scenario you described, your existing business and the roofing corporation are two separate entities. In order to operate under your existing corporation, you would need to apply for a new license number under your current corporate name along with a “doing business as” (dba) name that would reflect the name of the roofing business you purchased. Even though you would ultimately have two separate license numbers, the “dba” entity would still be part of the existing corporation and therefore you would not need to do separate bookkeeping.
Q: Our Qualifying Partner on our Partnership license unexpectedly disassociated resulting in the automatic cancellation of our license. Can we request an extension? How do we do this and who is required to make the request?
A: According to B&P Code 7076(c) a Partnership can request a continuance of the license to complete projects contracted for or in progress prior to the date of a Qualifying Partner’s disassociation. The General Partner must make this request in writing within 90 days after the disassociation.
I wish we could turn back the clock to help you, but I looked up your Partnership license and only the Limited Partner remains on this license. You do not have a General Partner listed and that means that, unfortunately, you will not be able to request a continuance. Limited Partners cannot make this request because the CSLB has determined that a Limited Partner’s only involvement in the business is financial, and they do not hold signing authority for the license. You will need to apply for a new license and I recommend listing the General Partner on the application so that you don’t run in to this problem again in the future. Wish we could have helped at the start.
Q: I used to have a contractor’s license for my corporation. There was a judgment on the license that I never did anything about and my license is now expired and is still showing the unsatisfied judgment on there. Can I just start from scratch and apply for a new license? The thing is, I’m now in a position where I can pay the judgment but I have tried and tried to contact the former customer via phone, mail, and even Facebook and I have had no luck contacting him. What now?
A: In most cases if your name is associated with an unsatisfied judgment the CSLB will require that you address it in some way (proof of payment, bankruptcy filing documents, etc) before you will be able apply for a new license.
That being said, showing proof of payment will be difficult if you are unable to contact the judgment creditor. In some cases you can speak with the staff of the Small Claims Court where the judgment was filed to determine what steps to take, but either way, in this case you should consult with an attorney.