California Court of Appeal

In an action involving whether Business and Professions Code section 7031(a), which “bars all actions, however they are characterized, which effectively seek 'compensation' for illegal unlicensed contract work.", bars plaintiff, who was licensed by the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) by the “License Type” “Sole Owner” under the fictitious business name “Clark Heating and Air Conditioning,” from pursuing an action to collect compensation for work performed under two contracts entered into under the transposed name “Clark Air Conditioning & Heating,” the judgment of the trial court is reversed where: 1) plaintiff was a licensed contractor and as such was entitled to perform contracting work under the name Clark Heating and Air Conditioning; 2) his failure to contract in the exact same name set forth in his license is, at most, grounds for disciplinary action; and 3) use of the fictitious name does not bar him from recovering for work performed under the contracts.

Appellate Information

• Decided 06/14/2011
• Published 06/14/2011

Judges

• BLEASE

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel