Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...contracts and obligations; clarify[ ] that unlicensed contractors have no lien or bond rights; [and] clarify[ ] that sureties of unlicensed contractors have continuing bond obligations”); see also id. at 1291-92 (making nearly identical changes to section 489.532)....

...that has provided a bond on behalf of the unlicensed contractor, subcontractor, or sub-subcontractor. It shall not be a defense to any claim on a bond or indemnity agreement that the principal or indemnitor is unlicensed as provided in s. 489.128 or s. 489.532....

...difficult to imagine a trade not covered by this provision. Certainly nothing in the text of the statute so indicates with any clarity. We hold that MMII does not meet the statutory definition of electrical contractor such that it must be licensed. Section 489.532(1)(a) provides that "if a state license is not required for the scope of work to be performed under the contract, the individual performing that work is not considered unlicensed." Because MMII is not required to obtain a contractor o...

...� Satellite did some work installing satellite equipment and subsequently sued for payment. During discovery, Mastec learned that Satellite was neither licensed nor certified to install satellite equipment. Mastec moved for summary judgment based on section 489.532, Florida Statutes (2004), which makes an unlicensed contractor’s contracts unenforceable. Mastec also amended its answer to include an affirmative defense based on section 489.532....

...to establish Satellite’s status as an unlicensed contractor. On the other hand, Mastec asserts that the trial court, upon being presented with unrebutted evidence that Satellite was an unlicensed contractor, properly granted summary judgment under section 489.532....

...add to, or design ... electrical wiring, fixtures, appliances, apparatus, raceways, conduit, or any part thereof, which generates, transmits, transforms, or utilizes electrical energy in any form.” § 489.505(12), Fla. Stat. (2004). Additionally, section 489.532 states that, “As a matter of public policy, contracts entered into ......

...Mastec’s SVP expressly stated that installation of LBNs included wiring to an electrical source and grounding. The parties’ contract also required Satellite to obtain a low-voltage electricity license. 1 Satellite’s conclusory affidavits were insufficient to create a disputed issue of fact. Accordingly, because section 489.532 proscribes court enforcement of an unlicensed contractor’s contract, the trial court correctly entered summary judgment in favor of Mastec....

...The trial court, in granting final summary judgment, applied a prior version of the statute and determined Rago to be unlicensed and unable to enforce its contract against ABC and its surety, Federal. We note that "[e]ffective [June 16, 2009], the amendments made . . . to ss. 489.128(1)(a) and 489.532(1)(a), Florida Statutes, shall apply retroactively to contracts entered into on or after October 1, 2000, and shall apply retroactively to all actions pending when this act becomes law." Ch....

...In reversing, the Fourth District held that the business organization did not meet the statutory definition of an electrical contractor mandating licensure, and therefore, absent the requirement of a state license, could not be deemed unlicensed under section 489.532(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2009). [4] MMII, Inc., 42 So.3d at 878. We note that although MMII, Inc. involved the application of a different a section of Chapter 489 to a business organization, the language in section 489.532(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2009), is identical to the pertinent language in section 489.128(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2009). We agree with the Fourth District in its application of section 489.128(1)(a), and the similar provision of 489.532(1)(a), to the issue of licensure as it relates to business organizations....