Miami General Contractor’s License Defense Attorneys

The construction industry is one of the most heavily investigated industry in the State of Florida.  According to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (“DBPR”), DBPR received 9,831 complaints in the fiscal year of 2022-2023.  Of those complaints, 4,699 were found to be legally sufficient, 1007 led to the filing of an administrative complaint, and 773 led to final orders.

At Hubbs Law, we not only aggressively defend accusations of a crime, we also aggressively defend our clients’ licenses as well. 

For every individual accused of misconduct with their general contractor’s license, we will thoroughly evaluate the facts of the client’s case, the applicable law, and guide them through the process with DBPR.

You have rights during this process.  For every complaint made to DBPR, there is a formal process that will be explained below.  During this process, you have the right to be represented by an attorney that can challenge evidence, witness credibility, or submit mitigating evidence on your behalf.

If you or someone you know has a general contractor’s license and has been accused of misconduct, give our office a call at (305) 570-4802.

Complaint Against General Contractor

The first step in this process generally involves an individual filing a complaint with DBPR alleging that a general contractor has engaged in misconduct that should lead to sanctions.  There are many reasons that an individual can file a complaint against a general contractor including:

• The contractor is unlicensed
• The contractor did not complete the work under the contract
• The quality of the contractor’s work was not up to professional standards
• The contractor damaged property during the construction
• The contractor overcharged for labor or materials

To file a complaint against a contractor, an individual simply needs to go to the DBPR website and file the complaint online or call at 850-487-1395.

Under Fla. Stat. 455.225, the contractor is entitled to be provided with a copy of the complaint and given 20 days to respond to the allegation. However, contractors should be careful in issuing a response as there are many cases where an individual’s response to these allegations could be incriminating and should be reviewed with an attorney prior to submission.

Investigation Against General Contractor

If the complaint is legally sufficient, then DBPR will generally investigate the allegations to determine if there is reasonable cause to believe that the licensee has violated a Florida statute, a rule of the department, or a rule of a board.  An investigation could involve speaking to witnesses, reviewing documents, or evaluating appliable law and regulations.

After an investigation, the investigative report and all evidence will be submitted to a “probable cause panel”.  The probable cause panel is comprised of current or former board members for the construction industry.  The purpose of the probable cause panel is to determine if there is probable cause that a violation occurred.

There are three possible decisions that a probable cause panel can make:

1. No Probable Cause – The evidence does not establish probable cause that the licensee violated the law.
2. Letter of Guidance – The licensee has violated the law but the violation was a minor infraction that does not require formal disciplinary action.
3. Administrative Complaint – The licensee violated the law and the violation merits disciplinary action.