Zale Design Studio v. Leevan CA2/1

INTRODUCTION

Mark Leevan hired designer Linda Zale, doing business as Zale Design Studio, as part of a project to remodel his Beverly Hills home. Under their agreement, Zale would pick out items such as furniture, paint, carpet, tiles, and fixtures, and Leevan would pay the amount Zale had paid for the items plus 30 percent as a design fee. Towards the end of the project, Leevan discovered that Zale had billed him for the cost of an item for which she had not paid, became suspicious of other invoices submitted by Zale, and stopped paying her. Zale sued Leevan to recover what she claimed he owed her for her work on the project. As an affirmative defense, Leevan asserted that Zale had engaged in activities that required a contractor’s license under the Contractors State License Law (CSLL; Bus. & Prof. Code,1 § 7000 et seq.), and was thus precluded from recovering anything for her services under section 7031, subdivision (a).2 It is undisputed that Zale did not have a contractor’s license.

1 All further unspecified code references are to the Business and Professions Code. 2 Section 7031, subdivision (a) provides, in relevant part, “no person engaged in the business or acting in the…