Advantec Group, Inc. v. Edwin's Plumbing Co.

INTRODUCTION

When a contractor sues to recover compensation for work requiring a contractor’s license, Business and Professions Code section 7031 requires the contractor to allege that he or she “was a duly licensed contractor at all times during the performance of that act or contract.” (§ 7031, subd. (a).) If the issue of licensure is “controverted” by the defendant, then the contractor must prove licensure by producing a verified certificate from the Contractors’ State License Board. (§ 7031, subd. (d).) In this case, we hold that a defendant’s answer containing a general denial of the material allegations of the contractor’s claim (Code Civ. Proc., § 431.30, subd. (b)(1)) is sufficient to “controvert” the contractor’s allegation of licensure, and thus invokes the requirement of section 7031, subdivision (d), that the contractor prove licensure by producing a verified certificate.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Defendant and cross-complainant Edwin’s Plumbing Co., Inc. (Edwin’s), appeals from a judgment entered after the trial court granted a motion for nonsuit on Edwin’s cross-complaint in favor of plaintiff and cross-defendant Advantec Group, Inc.…