Could you add another b to nab...ed in the title?
Wihtout her permission?
Check out California CIvil Code Sections 660 and 3346
and
California Code of Civil Procedure sections 733 and 734,
He says he is not a contractor. Since he can't read or write, he is not able to draw up a contract. He is therefore a hired employee.
"In California, the underground economy cost unsuspecting home and business owners from $60 (billion) to $160 billion a year," Vega said. "And the largest part of that is unlicensed contractors." Vega said these people prey on victims of disaster. "They don't have the skills to do work that meets the codes, and many times, they take huge down payments for work and skip the area."
Homeowners who hire unlicensed contractors are looking for potential problems. If workers are injured on the job, they can sue the owner for medical bills, since unlicensed contractors are not covered by state worker's compensation. Also unlicensed contractors are not insured for the work they do. So, if they damage property while doing a job, the homeowner will have to try to recuperate the losses through homeowners insurance.
Pardon me for swimming against the tide, but IMO licenses are just another way for government to tax its citizens.
If I want to hire Joe Schmo to build me a fence or add a room, it's my business to make sure I don't get ripped off. NOT the government's.
Careful, .. two can play the socialist regulatory game. Perhaps the pruning was done by a good Samaritan who kept your Mom from being fined for not keeping her property free from fire hazards and overgrowth. If it was a neighbor, they now might have grounds to file a mechanic's lein on her property if she refuses to maintain it and threaten the public safety.
IMHO, the regulation is primarily intended to protect an unwary public from fly-by-night 'contractors' who fail to abide or become cognizant of applicable codes. The regulation initially makes the agreement between the unlicensed contractor and the owner, an unenforcable contract. This means no incentive for an unlicensed contractor to take too great of market share from regulated licensed contractors, simply to finance the municipal code enforcement mechanisms.
By no means does the agreements between two private parties require municipal or county permission.
The socialist state of California would like for its citizens to believe that anybody who doesn't make themselves slaves to the state are criminal by default, but this isn;t Constitutional.
In the case of handcuffing somebody for tree pruning, its nuts. IMHO, let Napa burn the next time a wildfire arises and kick its residents out of house and home. Allow the insurance agencies to nullify all homeowner's insurance policies due to county interference of responsible real estate maintenance by the common man.
The codes had a $500 threshold back in the early 90s. IMHO, they probably need to be increased due to inflation to about $5000.