1. The Florida Statutes require contractors to be licensed to enforce contracts or lien rights.
2. In the case of The Village at Dolphin Commerce Center, LLC vs. Construction Service Solutions, LLC, the unlicensed contractor was able to enforce the contract and claim of lien through arbitration.
3. The trial court and appellate court both confirmed the arbitration award in favor of the unlicensed contractor, enforcing the claim of lien and awarding attorneys’ fees.
4. The appellate court rejected the owner’s argument that confirming the award resulted in the enforcement of an illegal contract, stating that the determination of the legality of the construction contract was a decision for the arbitrator. 1. The Florida trial court can vacate an arbitration award if it was obtained by corruption, fraud, or undue means, or if there was evident partiality, corruption, or misconduct by an arbitrator.
2. The court can also vacate the award if an arbitrator refused to postpone the hearing, hear material evidence, or conducted the hearing contrary to arbitration laws, or if the arbitrator exceeded their powers.
3. The award can be vacated if there was no agreement to arbitrate, or if the arbitration was conducted without proper notice as required by law.
4. The appellate court in Village concluded that none of these reasons for vacating the arbitration award existed, and therefore confirmed the award.
5. The court noted that the contractor was not licensed, but was unable to vacate the arbitration award.
6. The case highlights the limited ability to overturn an arbitration panel’s decision and emphasizes the importance of carefully considering whether to include arbitration provisions in construction contracts or any contracts.
https://www.jimersonfirm.com/blog/2014/11/unlicensed-contracting-florida-beware-arbitrating-issue/
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