Were a general contractor doing a residential addition project for a client who claimed HE was the architect and owner. The prints we were furnished with had his name on them and had the required seals from the engineer (a different person). After several delays on the project and excessive design revisions, we kinda put the breaks on the project pending an addendum to our contract. We realized that one of the crucial revision prints is lacking a stamp. We also found out that the owner/architect is not licensed here in the US (hes a Swiss national). The city rejected some new revision drawings due to wind load problems. The set of prints that the city has for our permit has the owner/architect listed as the architect. In conversation with my husband, the owner revealed he is not licensed here and the stamps were a favor from a friend. Can we get out of our contract or pull our permit and refuse to finish the job (we have less than $3000 worth of work left on the original contract, but $10,000 in extra work orders that are unpaid) based on fraud? Let us know. Answer1:You need professional advice -- the kind you pay for, not the kind you get for free on a public forum such as this. Consult a lawyer. (This is a legal problem, not an architectural problem) Answer2:Whether he is an architect or not is the issue here. Misrepresentation is punishable by fines and jail time in most States, but that isnt your problem. The legal responsibility is technically tied to the person who sealed the drawings that potentially affects public health and safety. In order to protect yourself, you need to have a lawyer address the issue with the owner immediately. There are two issues here, one is between you and the owner, and the other is your legal responsibility for a structure that is structurally deficient. The problem between you and the owners can usually be solved by the language in your original agreement. If you are to terminate the contract, it is unlikely you will be able to get back any of the additional work installed. You would be also required to get the lien waivers executed as part of the agreement. You will need to sit down with the owner and discuss with him.The bigger issue is the structural deficient structure. Should the structure fail, you have much bigger problems than you can imagine. You need to back track and ascertain whether the project has been properly documented and inspected.