Galveston man sues contractor over shoddy work

GALVESTON - A Galveston man claims a Houston contractor wrongfully placed a mechanic and materialman's liens on his storm-damaged residence after he demanded improvements to the latter's previous work, recent court documents say.

Robert Unger's lawsuit against Bryan Talley, Bryan Talley Companies, and NE Services explains that the plaintiff was unsatisfied with the defendants' repairs to his roof, but tried unsuccessfully to get remedial work done.

"Plaintiff Unger has faithfully attempted in good faith to allow the defendants to fulfill their express and implied warranty obligations to repair, replace, or remedy the legion of problems with their shoddy construction work, but the defendants have failed to do so," the original petition says.

The case was filed Nov. 23 in Galveston County District Court.

Unger's home was among the thousands heavily damaged during Hurricane Ike's assault on Galveston Island on Sept. 13, 2008.

The plaintiff spoke with Talley and his two companies about having restoration work done.

Both parties entered an agreement in April.

The construction reportedly cost more than $30,000 of which Unger paid half as the initial payment.

The plaintiff argues the defendants, however, failed to perform their duties as required under the contract.

"The defendants failed to include proper hurricane straps on the roof and failed to obtain proper inspections prior to completing the tasks," the suit says.

Unger also claims that he was promised successful inspections.

"Subsequent inspections by other engineers revealed that the defendants' work was unacceptable and would have to be undone," the suit says.

The plaintiff insists he "acted with utmost due diligence in his attempts to monitor the defendants' actions and correct their mistakes," going as far as sending numerous e-mails to Talley.

After a failed inspection, Unger requested the defendants to make improvements, but was met with the liens.

He eventually hired another company to rework his roof.

The suit faults the defendants for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, deceptive trade, and falsification of a lien.

Consequently, Unger seeks up to $50,000 in damages.

Galveston attorney S. Tim Yusuf is representing the plaintiff.

The case has been assigned to Galveston County 212th District Court Judge Susan Criss.

Case No. 09CV2156