Contractor Permanently Enjoined From Future Home Repair or Remodeling Work in Illinois
The Illinois Appellate Court, 1st District recently released its opinion in People v. Smith , affirming a circuit court's award of summary judgment on claims alleging a contractor violated the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (CFA), the Home Repair and Remodeling Act (HRRA), and the Illinois Roofing Industry Licensing Act . The trial court awarded $50,000 damages and, in a first for an HRRA case to the best of my knowledge, permanently enjoined the contractor from "future home repair and remodeling work in Illinois." The case was brought by the Illinois Attorney General against the individual contractor personally, as well as two corporations for which he served as agent. Apparently several consumers had filed complaints with the Attorney General alleging that they had hired this contractor to do home repair and remodeling work and paid a significant down payment, but that the contractor had never completed the work nor returned their money. I