Class action lawsuit against more than 80 unlicensed Miami-Dade contractors filed

The Miami-Dade Contractors Alliance, a nonprofit organization trying to eradicate unlicensed activity in Miami-Dade’s construction industry, has filed a class action lawsuit against more than 80 unlicensed contractors.

Rocco DiBenedetto, owner and creator of the organization, filed the 242-page lawsuit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court in November alleging that the defendants’ acts are “unfair and a deceptive practice” and asking for declaratory relief and an emergency injunction to shut down the companies.

He said that illegal construction work “disproportionally affects” Miami-Dade County and is “destroying our market.”

“We have absolutely no enforcement, it’s the wild, wild West,” DiBenedetto said, adding that he estimates there to be six or seven unlicensed contractors to every licensed professional. “If you just go to Broward County, you can see a robust enforcement.”

The case is scheduled to be heard Jan. 29.

This story was originally published January 27, 2015 at 4:19 PM with the headline "Class action lawsuit against more than 80 unlicensed Miami-Dade contractors filed."