Cape Coral homeowner wins court case but can't collect a dime from roofer

CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WINK)— A Cape Coral homeowner is still waiting on more than $30,000 after hiring a company to fix his roof following Hurricane Ian nearly four years ago.

Chuck Mueller's southeast Cape Coral home has a brand-new roof.

But he said it was a nightmare to get to this point, and it started in the days after Hurricane Ian.

"This whole area was swarmed by contractors, like locusts coming down. It was a mess," Mueller said. "I sustained some damage to my roof."

Mueller came to a recent WINK Listens event to talk about his frustrations with the original company he hired to fix his roof, Fleming Roofing and Construction out of Melbourne.

He said he waited weeks without hearing anything from the company.

"I waited. And I waited. And I waited for about three weeks," Mueller said. "I did not hear anything from these guys."

Mueller signed a check for $13,000, but after weeks of waiting, he pulled the plug on the contract.

"I called them up and said, 'done. We're not doing business,'" Mueller said. "They said they could have a crew there tomorrow. I said, 'dude, you couldn't have a crew here for three weeks, how are you gonna have a crew here tomorrow?'"

Mueller hired a new crew and had a new roof within a month. But he wanted his money back from Fleming.

"We went to court, won the case," Mueller said.

In March 2024, a Lee County judge issued a default against Fleming for failing to respond to Mueller's lawsuit.

The judge awarded Mueller nearly $32,000. But the story doesn't end there. Mueller said he received a check for just over $8,100. It’s not clear why the company chose that figure.

"I went to cash the check and it bounced," Mueller said.

That was more than two years ago, and Mueller said he still hasn't received a dime from the company.

WINK Investigates reached out to Fleming Roofing by email and phone call and never heard a response.

The website linked on the company's Facebook page is down.

Meanwhile, Mueller is hoping he might eventually get back the money he paid.

"It's been, what three four years now…and they still owe me," Mueller said.

Court records show the judge has authorized Mueller's lawyers to garnish Fleming's bank accounts.

But the bank that has been reached out to says Fleming already pulled all their money out and it's not clear where it might be.