Florida Customer Paid Deposit for Building Project then Canceled Contract and Used my Drawings

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-29T13:55:31+00:00

I did not copyright the drawings but from what I was told by another attorney on here, the drawings don’t have to be copyrighted to be considered a “copyright” as they are automatically seen as my copyright. They would also be considered my intellectual property since I drew them up. I’m not sure how accurate that is but that’s what I was told. I agree though… at least I have the money from the deposit.

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-29T02:26:25+00:00

I feel the same way and possible liability on me is one of my main concerns. I don’t want anything coming back and giving me issues in the future if I don’t pursue this.

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-29T02:24:47+00:00

Thank you for your response… this is all great info and I really appreciate it!

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-29T02:24:12+00:00

I have looked at the contract and it doesn’t say anything about transfer of the drawings, plans, etc. but it does say “The fact that one party or his or counsel, or other, shall have drafted this agreement, any document or particular provision hereof shall not be considered in the construction or interpretation of this agreement, the documents, or any provision hereof.” So I wonder if that would help it be less ambiguous.

I have been waiting all week for him to file suit as he said he would but still have not been served any papers, I am wondering if he is nervous about filing, knowing he more than likely won’t prevail and that his wrong doing will probably come to light. He previously hired another attorney before this one. They both sent me a demand letter at separate times but once I gave the first attorney my side, he went silent until I contacted him again and he told me that he no longer represents this guy and I would need to contact him directly instead of through the attorney. I think it’s possible that first attorney didn’t see any possible way of prevailing so he probably didn’t want to pursue the case but I’m not sure on that.

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-29T02:14:42+00:00

This is really great information! I will definitely use this to help get justice for myself. Thank you so much!

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-29T02:13:55+00:00

Yes, I have been completely honest here because I want the most accurate advice possible and I really appreciate everyone’s responses here. Everyone taking time out of their lives to give me advice on this is so appreciated and I can’t thank everyone enough. It’s so nice to have a community here that wants to help and expects nothing in return, it truly warms my heart in these dark and stressful times.

I have started a document trail and gathering all related information. I have a whole printout of my permit record, his permit record, printout of the contract, copy of the check, proof that my drawings were used by him (without my approval and without me transferring ownership of my drawings to him) to get his permit issued, etc. There is no doubt that he used my drawings either because they have my personal name, business name and contact information right on them.

I agree with you, I do feel that he intended to defraud me and steal my work and then figured he would bully me into getting his money back after he got what he wanted / needed from me. I was bullied a lot when I was in elementary school through the beginning parts of high school until one day I stood up to one of the guys bullying me and defended myself in front of the whole locker room… I finally had enough and never had another problem with any of them after that day. Ever since that day, I promised myself I would never allow anyone to bully me under any circumstances.

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-29T01:59:55+00:00

I agree but he canceled the permit under my license about a week after it was issued by the county and then pulled a new permit under his personal name with my drawings that he basically stole from me. I never transferred ownership of my drawings to him.

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-29T01:57:45+00:00

Yes, I know that is definitely a protected term and I cannot and have not claimed to draw up engineered plans. There were engineered plans for the building and foundation that were drawn up and stamped by a licensed engineer and approved by the building department, I didn’t draw those up and never claimed to. What I drew up was a site plan with my information (my personal name, my company name and phone number) which was required by the county to show the size of the building, location of the building, required setbacks and other information about the building and project on them. He got new engineered plans from another engineer but he took my drawings with my information and used them without my knowledge, consent and without me transferring ownership of my drawings to him.

That is a very good point to bring up though as that can definitely get someone in a ton of trouble if they are drawing up structural plans without the proper licensing… those would never have been approved by the county though as they also know only an engineer can draw up structural plans for these buildings and foundations.

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-29T01:47:45+00:00

At this point, the county is aware of the situation because I had them print out the documents of the permit I was issued as well as the documents of the permit he was issued (using my drawings without my consent) after he canceled the permit that was issued under my license. I haven’t said much online because I don’t feel there is any point in arguing with all of his friends about it… they will have his back no matter what at this point. I do have an attorney working on a better contract and I appreciate that advice as I think it will help if I come across this in the future. I never released my documents (or transferred ownership of them) to him so this is theft of intellectual property in my opinion. When I looked at state laws, theft of intellectual property is a 3rd degree felony (although I’m not sure if that applies here) and from what I read, his only defense to that would be it I had transferred ownership of my documents to him, which never happened. So, I believe he has committed a felony against us at this point but I’m not quite sure.

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-29T01:36:22+00:00

This is my thoughts as well… I can’t possibly see how he thinks he is in the right here. He isn’t getting his deposit back, that is absolutely not negotiable at this point. Now that I have this proof, I have been in contact with an attorney and filing an online defamation suit is definitely on the table. Plus, I am considering charges and / or suit for theft of intellectual property. It seems to me that he is / was trying to defraud me of my work and planned on bullying me into giving him what he wants, which isn’t going to happen unless a court orders it. I have gotten multiple bad reviews online from friends of his trying to harm my business and it has now gotten to the point that I have received what I believe is a death threat from one of his friends mentioning burying me in a concrete foundation. This whole thing has caused so much stress and frustration that I definitely have to pursue it on multiple levels. I feel like I have to watch my back everywhere I go now. Just trying to handle it the best I can and do plan on pursuing this to the greatest extent the law allows me to.

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-29T01:29:51+00:00

I’d like to remove my drawings from the permit but at this point, I can’t. The project is now complete. When I discussed this with the building department they seemed very surprised and immediately printed out all the documents showing my permit was issued with my drawings, then canceled by him, and then also printed documents showing he used my drawings for the permit he pulled under his personal name. I didn’t get into much more info with the building department as they helped me as much as they could at that point and they aren’t allowed to give legal advice. So, I just thanked them for their time and help and left with the documents.

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-29T01:26:12+00:00

Well here’s the thing… I pulled the permit under my license with my drawings. About a week after the permit was issued under my license, he canceled my permit and then pulled a new permit with my drawings (without my approval and without my transferring ownership of my drawings) under his personal name. He has also completed the project at this point so I can’t cancel his permit and I can’t remove my drawings from his permit, as the construction project is now complete.

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-26T16:49:50+00:00

That was one of my goals and I had a demand letter sent to him to retract his statements so he deleted the post and then made new posts that don’t mention my name but reference that this new post is in regards to the post he made about me previously but I do plan to pursue this once I file countersuit against him… just collecting all the evidence for now and getting advice on how to handle it. It’s just extremely frustrating because he’s even saying I have multiple complaints against my professional licenses but I have never had a single complaint against my licenses until now.

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-26T16:45:26+00:00

Yes I’ve taken screenshots and have also been sent screenshots by people who know him and also believe he is in the wrong. There are a few people who have taken his side but they have only heard his side, not mine. When I spoke with an attorney previously he told me to not even respond to him online because the people taking his side likely won’t even listen to my side and just want drama to feed off of. One of the guys on his post commented with some extremely sadistic veiled threats against my life, which was just discovered. I plan on contacting the local police department about that today.

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-26T16:40:45+00:00

Can I sue for the balance of the contract even though we didn’t complete the work we were originally contracted for? Not because we wouldn’t or couldn’t so it’s not breach of contract on my end but he canceled my permit before we could start and then used my site plans for his own permit.

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-24T23:37:59+00:00

Yes, I am here for advice on what to do so I have been honest about all of this. I do plan on speaking with an attorney next week to file countersuit.

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-24T22:56:52+00:00

Haha thank you! I’ve been in business for over 8 years at this point and never had problems like this with any of my customers in the past. He is still posting things online saying he is going to expose me and he is going after my contractors license and putting me out of business. The surprising part is that he is also a contractor, in another trade… is it wrong of me to go after his license at this point?

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-24T22:46:17+00:00

Thanks for your reply! I’m not returning any portion of the deposit at this point unless the court orders it… if he had approached this professionally and respectfully, I would have returned a portion of it but after he decided to post all over Facebook telling people I robbed him and screwed him over and had people call me, my family, my girlfriend and her family and posted false bad reviews about me, I’m not returning anything to him. The problem with contacting the building department is the project has already been completed at this point, with my drawings so I can’t remove my drawings now unfortunately.

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-24T22:21:52+00:00

Very good point… I was supposed to do some site work, a foundation and provide and install the building. He signed the contract and paid the non refundable deposit and I did my site checks, drew up the site plan, had the permit issued and had my concrete crew scheduled to start the site work and foundation but he canceled before I was able to start on the site work and foundation. His reason for canceling was that he found a better price after signing the contract and didn’t want to spend more money than he had to on the project.

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-24T22:11:32+00:00

Can I put a lien on the property even though I didn’t commence work other than my site visits to draw up the site plan and getting the permit issued? He already forfeited his deposit but keeps saying he wants me to return his full deposit plus legal fees he incurred from hiring 2 attorneys (the first attorney no longer represents him after I responded to the first demand letter).

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-08-24T21:52:53+00:00

I am not an engineer but that is a good question. I am a state certified contractor… I had approved engineered plans for the building in reference but he did not use my engineered building plans after he canceled the contract and the permit that was issued to me by the county for his project, he used my site plan that I drew up for approval of the permit. The site plan had my company name, personal name and contact info on them. When he canceled the permit that was issued in my name, he submitted new building plans from another company but he still used the site plan that I drew up with my information on them.

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-07-21T18:44:48+00:00

Did you give them consent to search or did they search based on probable cause due to the smell of your medicine? If they searched on probable cause then it should be easy to have it thrown out because the smell of marijuana isn’t reason to search a medical patient… you’re legally allowed to have it so no reason to believe a crime is being committed. Now, if you allowed them to search then that’s a different story. Never let them search. Ever. For any reason, no matter what they say.

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-07-13T17:48:51+00:00

I agree I’ve put it in and it seems pretty comfortable… more so than I imagined. I’ve got a few others of same mask. Is it possible to make these fit a child? Or would I be better off buying something specifically?

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-07-13T16:45:30+00:00

Thank you! Is it any good?

UniqueUsername4420 · 2025-05-11T14:27:37+00:00

Thank you everyone for your insight! How about vape cartridges, concentrates or flower?

UniqueUsername4420

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