Property Owner Representation

YOU PAID.
THE WORK IS WRONG.
NOW WHAT.
WE HANDLE THAT.

Florida construction law representation for property owners dealing with contractor disputes, defective work, and liens on their home. You don’t have to accept the situation you’re in.

Contractor Disappeared Lien on Your Home Job Never Started Defective Work Contractor Took Your Deposit Unlicensed Contractor Unfinished Work

Principal Attorney

Of Counsel · Martin Law, PLLC

Dennis Ballard

Of Counsel · Martin Law, PLLC

Dennis Ballard brings more than 20 years of litigation experience to Martin Law, PLLC, where he serves as Of Counsel and is the firm’s senior litigation counsel. His career spans construction defect claims, breach of contract disputes, insurance defense, and complex commercial litigation, giving him a breadth of courtroom and trial experience that is difficult to replicate.

Dennis’s construction experience covers defective work disputes, design failures, and contractor and subcontractor liability. His insurance defense background includes managing high-volume caseloads with the precision that carriers and clients demand, and he has led and managed litigation teams at prior firms on complex matters.

Admitted

State of Florida

Focus

Florida Construction Law

Coverage

Statewide

The Reality

You're Not
Overreacting.
This Is a Real
Legal Problem.

The situation you’re in has a name in Florida law. It has remedies. And it has deadlines. The contractor knows all three. The question is whether you have someone in your corner who does too.

Contractors Know the Clock Better Than You Do

Florida’s construction statutes run on hard deadlines. The contractor’s attorney knows every one of them. Most property owners don’t find out until it’s too late to use them.

A Lien on Your Home Is a Legal Cloud on Your Title

It affects your ability to sell, refinance, or close. It doesn’t go away on its own. Being innocent of wrongdoing doesn’t make it disappear faster.

An Unlicensed Contractor Changes Everything

If your contractor wasn’t licensed for the work they performed, Florida law may entitle you to a full refund plus additional damages.

The Contractor's Attorney Has Done This Before

Construction law is not the place for a general practice attorney learning on the job, or for no attorney at all.

What Brings People Here

Your Situation Probably Fits One of These.

Construction disputes with property owners cluster into recognizable patterns. Here’s where most clients start.

Money & Abandonment

The Contractor Took the Money and Disappeared.

Deposit paid. Work started. Or didn’t. Now they’re not answering. You’re sitting on a half-finished project with no idea what your rights are or where to start.

Contractor Took the Deposit and Never Started

You paid a deposit and the contractor never showed up, stopped responding, or made excuses until it became clear the work wasn’t coming. This is actionable. You have options.

Contractor Abandoned the Job Mid-Project

Work was underway, then stopped. They left without explanation, stopped communicating, or gave reasons that never materialized. You’re left with an incomplete project and no clear path forward.

The Contractor Got Paid. Then They Walked.

Construction contracts in Florida are often front-loaded. By the time a contractor stops showing up, they may have already collected the majority of the contract price with a significant amount of work still unfinished. What’s left in the budget isn’t enough to hire someone else to complete it.

Defective Work & Construction Defects

The Contractor Says the Work Is Done. It's Not.

The contractor called it finished and collected or requested final payment. The work is wrong, incomplete, or both and now they won’t return to fix it. Florida law gives you remedies, but the deadlines attached to construction defect claims are real. The sooner you act, the more options you have.

The Work Is Done Wrong and They Know It

The work was completed but not correctly. It failed inspection, doesn’t meet the plans, or isn’t what was represented. You’re entitled to what you contracted for.

Contractor Won't Come Back to Fix It

You’ve called. You’ve sent emails. They acknowledge the problem but won’t return to correct it. At some point, you stop waiting and start building a case.

Construction Defects — Chapter 558 Applies Before You Can Sue

Your property has problems the contractor or builder denies or won’t repair. Before you can sue, Florida’s Chapter 558 requires you to send a formal notice giving them an opportunity to respond. We handle the process correctly from the start.

Liens & Legal Escalation

A Lien on Your Home. A Process Server at Your Door.

A lien on your property clouds your title and won’t resolve itself. A lawsuit doesn’t get better the longer you wait. If the dispute has crossed into legal territory, the moves you make right now matter more than any that came before.

A Lien Was Filed on My Home and I Paid My Contractor

You paid the GC in full. Now a subcontractor you’ve never heard of has filed a lien against your property. This happens more often than most homeowners expect, and Florida law gives you tools to address it.

The Lien Isn't Going Away

A construction lien can be enforced through foreclosure — that is not a hollow threat. And if the contractor won’t provide a final lien release after you’ve paid in full, that holds up closings, refinances, and creates ongoing title exposure. Both situations have a legal resolution.

You've Been Sued

You’ve been served. The contractor is claiming nonpayment or breach while you have legitimate complaints about the work — or is billing you for extras you never approved. A construction lawsuit requires a response, and the clock starts the moment you’re served. Don’t walk into court without someone who knows this area of law.

Florida Lien Law

A Lien on Your Home Won't Fix Itself

Contractors file liens. It is, in fact, what we advise our own contractor clients to do when a payment dispute isn’t resolving. What it means for you is that your title is clouded until it’s resolved and that affects your ability to sell, refinance, or close. Florida’s Chapter 713 gives you specific tools to respond. The sooner you use them, the cleaner the path forward.

LIEN

Practice Areas

What We Handle for Property Owners

Every situation below is something Florida property owners actually face. Not theoretical. Not hypothetical.

When a lien hits your title

Construction Lien Defense

We analyze the lien for procedural defects, enforce your rights under Chapter 713, and pursue the most effective path to clearing your title. Whether that’s a transfer of lien, a bond, a notice of contest, or litigation.

When the work is defective or incomplete

Construction Defect & Chapter 558

Florida’s Chapter 558 requires property owners to serve formal notice on the contractor before filing suit for construction defects. The contractor then has the right to inspect and an opportunity to cure. We handle the notice correctly and represent you through whatever comes next.

When they took your money and didn't deliver

Abandonment & Breach of Contract

Abandonment, nonperformance, and breach of contract claims for property owners who paid for work that was never completed or done so badly it constitutes a breach. We pursue recovery through demand, negotiation, and litigation.

When the bill doesn't match the contract

Change Order & Scope Disputes

Contractors don’t get to unilaterally add to the contract price. If you’re being invoiced for work you didn’t authorize, or extras already included in the scope, you have the right to dispute them.

When a lawsuit is filed or threatened

Construction Litigation

Whether you’re pursuing a contractor or defending against a claim, construction litigation requires specialized knowledge of Florida’s statutes, lien law, and construction contracts. We represent property owners in state court disputes statewide.

Before the contract is signed

Contract Review for Homeowners

The best time to call a construction attorney is before you sign, not after the dispute starts. We review home improvement, renovation, and new construction contracts for clauses that shift risk unfairly onto you.

Why This Firm

We Know How
Contractors Think.
That's the
Advantage.

Martin Law, PLLC represents both sides of the construction relationship. We represent contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers every day. When we’re representing you as a property owner, we already know the arguments they’re going to make, the clauses they’ll point to, and the procedural moves they’re likely to use.

Construction law is not a sideline here. It is the only thing we do.

“Construction disputes are won and lost on facts, paperwork, and timing. All three need to be right. All three need to be addressed early.”

100% Construction Law

No personal injury cases in the morning and construction disputes in the afternoon. That depth matters when the other side's attorney lives in the same space.

We Know Both Sides

Because we represent contractors, we understand their arguments before they make them. We know the weaknesses, the standard practices, and what a contractor's attorney will lead with.

Immediate, Direct Access

You call or text. You talk to an attorney, not a paralegal intake form, not a callback queue. Construction disputes move fast and so do the deadlines attached to them.

Statewide Florida Representation

Licensed and practicing statewide. Florida construction law is the same statute for every county, and we know it.

Grew Up on the Job Site

This firm was founded by someone who worked construction and ran construction companies before he practiced law. That background shapes how we listen, how we evaluate a case, and how we talk to clients who've been through it.

Who We Are

Not a
Generalist.
Not a Jack of All Trades.

Florida Construction Law. Nothing Else. We represent Florida contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers in construction disputes, lien foreclosure, and construction law matters from contract to closeout, statewide.

Contractors & Subcontractors

Are You a Contractor or Subcontractor?

We serve Florida’s builders, trades, and material suppliers too. →