Pacific Caisson & Shoring, Inc. v. Bernards Bros.

INTRODUCTION

Subcontractor Pacific Caisson & Shoring, Inc. (Pacific), sued its general contractor Bernards Bros. Inc. (Bernards) seeking payment for work performed under Pacific’s subcontract. The trial court granted Bernards’s motion for judgment, ruling, because Pacific did not maintain a class C-12 specialty license, that it was not “a duly licensed contractor” and was hence not entitled to bring its action. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 7031, subd. (a).) 1 Pacific appeals.

We hold that Pacific was duly licensed because it held a class A general engineering contractor’s license when it commenced performance of the subcontract. However, Pacific’s class A license lapsed for two and a half months during performance. Where the trial court ruled Pacific was never duly licensed, the court never reached the question whether Pacific nonetheless was entitled to recover because it substantially complied with the Contractors’ State License Law (the CSLL) (§§ 7000 et seq., 7031, subd. (e)). Accordingly, we reverse the judgment and remand for further proceedings.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The evidence is not in dispute. Bernards and Pacific executed a subcontract (the…