Defendant’s demurrer to the First Amended Complaint.
Sustain demurrer w/o leave to amend.
B & P 7031 prevents recovery by an unlicensed contractor for contractor work
performed. The FAC alleges that the parties were in a romantic relationship that led
plaintiff into moving into defendant’s home, and that the home was in need of significant
repair and improvement. Plaintiff was concerned that if the relationship fizzled, he would
not be compensated for his labor in renovating the home. Defendant says that she will make
him a co-owner to protect his interest in his labor. She does, and Plaintiff sends her an
itemized statement for his labor in the amount of $401,000.00. The relationship fails, and
Plaintiff wants his one-half interest in the home. How does Plaintiff avoid the conclusion
that the entire arrangement was not founded on love and affection, but on the
work he put into renovating and upgrading the home? Analogizing it to the Marvin case is
a non-starter. That case was framed as a contract action, but the consideration was Michelle
Marvin giving up her career in exchange for acting like a wife and sharing in the property
she and Lee acquired. The consideration here is the work on defendant’s home which in the
absence of a contractor’s license, he cannot recover for.