In trying to figure out how I could have been so wrong in choosing Dave Exline and Three Little Pigs Construction, I decided to research his construction business and whether or not he had other legal issues in San Luis Obsipo County. Little did I know what I would find out.
To start off with, here is a picture of Dave Exline of Three Little Pigs Construction being served with my lawsuit alleging breach of contract, fraud, and negligence. He is the little guy on the right. He was going into the courtroom for another construction related lawsuit.
I started out by doing legal research at the San Luis Obsipo County courthouse. Finding out that your contractor has been involved in lawsuits in the past is not a bad thing in and of itself. But finding out that your contractor has been in lawsuits with his immediate family should be cause for concern.
Then I decided to check with the San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara County Clerk Recorders. There was even more info to be found. Looks as if Dave Exline/Three Little Pigs Construction filed mechanics liens against Roger and Jeannie Hunt in San Luis Obispo County and Dulce Marrs in Santa Barbara Country. Go HERE for information on how Mechanics Liens work.
Upon finding this, I decided the next course of action should be to contact the Hunts and Dulce Marrs and to contact former customers of Dave Exline/Three Little Pigs construction to find out their experiences. My list was as follows:
- Ducle Marrs(mechanics lien filed by Three Little Pigs Construction)
- Roger and Jeannie Hunt(mechanics lien filed by Three Little Pigs Construction)
- Steve and Judy Brysinski
- Kathy and Craig Bonelli
- Rosemary Thorne (Filed lawsuit against Dave Exline/Three Little Pigs)
After hearing their experiences, I thought it would be good to keep an eye on the court calendar in San Luis Obispo County and much to my surprise Dave Exline was a frequent visitor to the courts. Here is a
link to a page I created to keep track of his legal issues. This is not a complete list but should give you a sense of how often Dave Exline and Three Little Pigs Construction was showing up on the docket.
In reviewing the calendars I happened upon the case of Michael Boyijian vs. Dave Exline/Janice Exline. A bit of research revealed that Boyijian was retained by Dave Exline in his lawsuit against Dulce Marrs. Something must have happened as now Dave Exline is/was in a lawsuit with his former attorney. How that works only Dave Exline could tell you.
The interesting thing is, if you go to Dave Exlines'
website, and look at his current projects, one of them is his sons' house in San Diego, and the other is the Thorne project. The very same Thornes who have filed a lawsuit.
After discovering this information it was clear to me what I was dealing with. Unfortunately most of this information was not as readily available in 2000 as is in 2005. Because if it was, Dave Exline would never have gotten my business
My advice to anyone doing more than $500.00 worth of work with a contractor, spend some time researching them. Check the county clerk recorder for liens and other info, check the civil and criminal courts for info, use internet search engines like
Yahoo,
Google, and
Dogpile by typing in their personal names, company name, and combinations, and also check out your states Contractors License Board just to make sure they have a valid license.
