Delaware's attorney general is going after a roofing and construction outfit that, the state says, got homeowners to sign what they thought was a form for a free inspection, then held them to a binding contract and sued when they tried to walk away (via Delaware Department of Justice). Attorney General Kathy Jennings' Consumer Protection Unit filed an administrative complaint against Mastercraft Contracting LLC and its two co-owners, Majid Sefiane, who also goes by Michael Strong, and David Caprario.
Everything in the complaint is an allegation. The company and its owners are entitled to a hearing, and an Administrative Hearing Officer will decide whether they broke Delaware law.
Mastercraft was formed in 2020 under Delaware law, according to the complaint, which describes it as a home construction company doing roofing and other work and dealing with homeowners' insurers to get claims approved. WMDT reported in May that the company is based in Dover. Sefiane runs sales and Caprario manages jobs, the complaint says.
Here's how the state says the pitch worked. Door-to-door was the main sales channel, and the company signed up "hundreds" of Delaware consumers. Homeowners were allegedly told they needed to sign a document to get a free inspection or estimate, or to let Mastercraft talk to their insurance company. That document, which Mastercraft called an "Initial Agreement," was actually a contract committing the homeowner to use the company, the state alleges, with the binding terms tucked on the back page.
Then come the penalties. Under the Initial Agreement as described in the complaint, if insurance covered part of the estimate (often spelled out as more than half), the homeowner had no right to cancel. Back out anyway and you owed one-third of the estimate as liquidated damages, whether or not any work was done. A second document signed after insurance approval, which the complaint calls the "Lockdown Contract," allegedly required a canceling customer to pay all of Mastercraft's costs, including court costs and attorney fees, plus 25% of the contract price.
The state says the company backed those terms with threats of liens and lawsuits. Since 2020, according to the complaint, Mastercraft has filed at least 16 lawsuits in Delaware courts trying to collect that one-third figure, and none has won on the merits. In one Justice of the Peace case, the complaint says, the company acknowledged spending no more than $290 on an inspection while seeking $7,089. In June 2024, a Justice of the Peace dismissed two of the suits after bench trials, calling the cases "remarkably similar" and the company's description of the clause "preposterous," the complaint states.
The state also alleges Mastercraft put the Better Business Bureau logo on its contracts, next to the words "Licensed" and "Insured," even though it has never been BBB-accredited, and called itself "accredited" on its website. Investigators also say salespeople didn't carry the door-to-door salesperson ID card Delaware requires and didn't give homeowners the written Notice of Cancellation or tell them out loud about their three-day right to cancel.
"Our office will continue to take action against companies that prey on homeowners," Jennings said in the announcement. She also said contractors shouldn't "weaponize fine print, or bully Delawareans with frivolous lawsuits."
The state is asking for cease-and-desist orders, full restitution for harmed homeowners, and civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation of the Consumer Fraud Act and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, plus smaller fines for each ID-card violation. The case follows a May 2026 state motion in Superior Court to make Mastercraft answer an investigative subpoena.
Why it matters for Contractors
Most small shops would never run a play like this. But the laws the state is using apply to anyone selling at the kitchen table, so read your own paperwork the way a homeowner, or a judge, would.
Start with anything you call an inspection, estimate or authorization form. If a signature on it commits the customer to hiring you, say so plainly on the front. Delaware's Home Solicitation Sales Act lets buyers in most door-to-door deals of $25 or more cancel until midnight of the third business day, and it requires you to tell them that out loud and hand over a written Notice of Cancellation in bold type. The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule is similar. Anyone knocking doors in Delaware also needs the state-issued salesperson ID card.
Then look hard at your cancellation clause. Charging a customer a flat third of the job, or a quarter of the contract price on top of costs, before you've done meaningful work is exactly the kind of number Delaware courts have tossed as a penalty. If you need protection, tie it to real costs you can document, like materials ordered or permits pulled. And only put a BBB logo or the word "accredited" on your materials if it's true.