That home was riddled with code violations, causing the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors to take a look at what happened. That investigation began after a Troubleshooter investigation exposed the way Lindley built the home of James and Anita Muehlbach.
[Ads /]
Following the board's investigation, it decided to suspend Lindley's general contractor license for one year.
In May, ABC11 first told you about the Muehlbach's home that was built by Lindley and his company Lindley Builders Inc. in 2020. Soon after moving in, the Muehlbachs discovered two dozen code violations -- many serious, even structural issues.
The Muehlbachs took action against Lindley in several ways, including a civil court case which won them a $225,000 judgement.
In October, the NC Licensing Board for General Contractors held a hearing and Lindley defended the way he built the Muehlbachs home saying it was not as bad as professional engineers and the Muehlbachs claim.
[Ads /]
During the hearing, Lindley testified, "We try and do everything to code and we try to catch everything while we are doing the house."
As a result of the hearing, the Contractor's Board ruled Lindley did violate state law and suspended his license for 12 months. Lindley does have the opportunity to get it back after six months of that suspension if he meets the conditions set by the board.
The Muelbachs said they are disappointed in the board's decision.
"What about our unpaid judgment that we desperately need to repair our home? Within days of our civil judgment being entered Lindley opened a new business and applied for a new contractor's license. These are not the actions of a man who learned his lesson and wants to redeem himself. The board's own attorney stated in his closing arguments that he had never tried a case with this many code violations on one home. I think this ruling is weak and sets the precedent for NC contractors that misconduct and negligence will be met with minimal consequences. This contractor will have the ability to take advantage of another family the way he did ours in as little as 6 months. This is disappointing," James Muelbach said.