In Pincetich v. Nolan, the Oregon Court of Appeals recently held that a temporary suspension of a contractor’s license during a project will bar the contractor from commencing a lawsuit seeking compensation. The Nolans, husband and wife, contracted with Mr. Pincetich to build a house. During the project, Mr. Pincetich’s liability insurance lapsed and, as a result, the Oregon Construction Contractors Board suspended his license. He obtained the required insurance and his license was reinstated 14 days later. Mr. Pincetech continued to perform work for approximately 6 months after his license was reinstated. At some point, a dispute arose and he claimed that the Nolans failed to pay him amounts owed for his work. The Nolans refused and Mr. Pincetech filed suit. One of the Nolans’ defenses was that Mr. Pincetech’s license suspension barred him from filing the lawsuit. The trial court agreed and dismissed his claims. Mr. Pincetech appealed and the Court of Appeals held that the fact that he was not continuously licensed while performing work barred his ability to file a suit for compensation. The moral of the Pincetech v. Nolan story: Maintain your license continuously while performing work for which you want to be compensated. If your license does lapse, in some cases you may be able to work with the CCB to reinstate the license in a manner that retroactively covers the period of lapse.