well as the identification of the class difficult. I understand that you are not an attorney but the brief summary you gave may not be sufficient to support a lawsuit (although it may be supported with additional information if applicable). If you have identified an attorney to bring this case, often attorneys can work together to create a viable database from past lawsuits when possible. There are also websites like lawyersandsettlements.com. If I can be of any help here in GA, please let me know.

served. The timing is now VERY IMPORTANT. You have 30 days from the date of service to respond to avoid a default. If you have not already retained legal counsel to represent you, you should do so right away. Of course I am available and it appears that you have a number of potential defenses. There may also be insurance or other issues. If there was a construction company you may not have individual liability other than for your alleged negligence. The inspection reports, the permits in the name of the homeowner are all important. Because this is a public forum and anyone may read it, including the plaintiff homeowner, I would not recommend discussing this in a public forum. You should discuss your rights, options, remedies and strategy with an attorney in private.

Feel free to check my website at www.kmvlaw.com or call me at 770.752.0990.

attorney. Often as part of an initial consultation, an attorney may be able to tell you if there is a clear right in a few minutes without charge and, in this case, they may be tell you whether it is worth pursuing in small claims. As Woodbridge indicated the first place to start is your contract with the service provider. In general, the failure of the HOA to approve would commonly be a reason to cancel the contract without penalty. If there is not a specific provision, there may be other legal principles that may apply (as Woodbridge suggested in the event that you signed the contract in your home, which is typical, and they failed to provide the required notice and forms under the FTC 3-day cooling off rule, you may have the right to cancel -- you may find more information on this at FTC.gov. and states have similar laws). I am not sure if this type of contractor activity is licensed but if so, you may want to check with the Florida Dept of Business & Professional Regulation to see if you can file a complaint there.

Did you pay by credit card? If so, you may have rights to dispute the charge through your credit card company but you must act in a timely manner.

As a side note, Florida also has an Office of Condominium Ombudsman which may be able to help if the denial of the requested improvement is improper.

general search of the legislature's website. HB417 applies to the City of Columbus. I have not worked much with Landscape Architects but I did review the PLB website and their rules. OCGA 43-23-4(a) provides:

"No person shall perform or offer, attempt, or agree to perform any act which would

constitute the practice of landscape architecture, as defined in paragraph (3) of Code

Section 43-23-1, whether as a part of a transaction or as an entire transaction, unless

such person has received a license as a landscape architect pursuant to this chapter."

The "part of a transaction" suggests that your recap that you can give it away free as part of installation may not be accurate. But the Board could have an interpretation that could permit some leeway. Feel free to give me a call and we can discuss further. As an aside, I often do a presentation at Gwinnett Tech for Lee Woodall.

review of the lease to determine what the renewal provisions are and if there is an attornment clause. You are welcome to give me a call tomorrow morning 770.752.0990 and we'll see if I can help you.

will likely take a building permit. It will definitely take a state licensed residential or general contractor -- that state license may be verified with the Professional Licensing Board of the Secretary of State's office and assure that they have not had unfavorable action against them. It is NOT a business license. Be careful, unfortunately there may even be some on Hometalk and other websites who are performing work for which they do not hold a lawful license. The contractor should pull the permit in their name--NOT YOU! That makes them responsible for code compliance and inspections. You want to be sure to have these to at least have some minimum assurance that your deck is properly attached to your home and, if above ground, will NOT collapse and injury someone.

My suggestion is to start here in Hometalk but to continue your due diligence elsewhere to confirm anyone. Check their BBB rating, Kudzu, etc but those ratings and reviews can be falsified or manipulated. If however you see horrible ratings, the run away. Any company can have one or two bad reviews (if so, see how they respond and see that they are professional).

A good contractor will have a good contract and will meet with you. There are certain requirements that they should have in their contract, and the absence of a written warranty, the FTC Cooling Off rule disclosures (if signed anywhere other than their permanent place of business), and the Right to Repair Act disclosure should be warning signs also.

I also recommend that you find a member in good standing with an association like NARI (full disclosure: I have been legal counsel to NARI Atlanta). As a general rule (and this is broad brush), members working on certifications and keeping up with the industry have a reputation they truly care about. Again, however this is only one thing to check.

I can go on but check out my website (its free) and if you have questions give me a call. Also you may want to check out the Natl Center for the Prevention of Home Improvement Fraud (NCPHIF.org). I speak for them and we'll soon have out a workbook to help homeowners.

the manufacturer. For example, a shower pan may be warranted to 10 years but the labor warranted by the contractor for only 1 year. While a warranty is nice, it is not a substitute for doing your due diligence on the contractor to be sure they know what they are doing, check references and be sure that your contract specifies that they will follow all manufacturer's installation requirements so that the manufacturer's warranty is not voided. Often you can find the manufacturer's installation instructions online. Take lots of photos during installation, and use a tape measure to show distances. You'd be surprised later at how helpful they can be when trying to remember where pipes run behind walls and other issues.