Pennsylvania sues a New Jersey remodeler accused of abandoning jobs and refusing refunds
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday has sued JC Home & Construction Management, a remodeler working out of Gloucester County, N.J., and its owner, alleging abandoned jobs, shoddy work and refused refunds. The state wants the owner permanently barred from the home improvement trade in Pennsylvania.
The civil complaint, lodged with the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and made public on November 6, accuses the company of breaking the state’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law and its Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (HICPA). According to the complaint, the owner ran the business as JC Home Repair from 2018 to 2020. The filing lists three more trade names. Two are JC Construction and JC Home Improvement; the third is JC Home and Construction. The claims are allegations that a court has not ruled on.
The state cites six customers as examples. A Philadelphia homeowner paid for an $8,575 bathroom gut job that, the complaint says, was never finished and caused a leak that brought down a ceiling in another room. A Montgomery County client wants $36,000 back after three projects were abandoned. A Philadelphia customer over 60 paid $31,020 toward a $41,570 basement renovation that was never completed, then won a $20,900 default judgment that the complaint says has not been paid.
Registration is central to the case. The complaint says the firm worked for about two years, from July 2020 to June 2022, without the HICPA registration Pennsylvania requires. The state deactivated its registration in August 2023 over address and insurance discrepancies, and again in December 2024 after it failed to supply a valid insurance certificate and full information on past civil judgments. It registered once more in June 2025, the same day the state told it to stop working. PhillyVoice reported that the firm did not consistently carry liability insurance.
The attorney general wants the owner and the company barred from running a home improvement business in Pennsylvania or registering one there, plus restitution, the state’s costs and civil penalties of $1,000 per violation, or $3,000 where the customer is 60 or older. The office is asking other customers who believe they were harmed to file complaints so they can be considered for restitution.
Why it matters: Before hiring or subcontracting with a remodeler in Pennsylvania, look up its HICPA registration on the attorney general’s site and ask for a current insurance certificate. Lapsed registration is the hook the state is using here to seek a lifetime ban.
Sources
- Attorney General Sunday Sues New Jersey-Based Home Improvement Contractor Over Alleged Consumer Protection ViolationsPennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Nov 6
- Complaint: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. JC Home & Construction Management, LLCPennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Nov 6
- South Jersey contractor 'abandoned' projects and refused to refund homeowners, lawsuit saysPhillyVoice, Nov 6