How do I check court records on a contractor?

Court records are split across three tiers. Federal courts (bankruptcy, federal civil cases, federal liens) are searchable at pacer.uscourts.gov ($0.10/page) or free via CourtListener.com for headline data. State appellate decisions are free on most state judicial websites. County trial courts — where 95% of contractor disputes live — vary by county.

What to search for, in order of importance:

1. Mechanics' liens AGAINST the contractor. When a subcontractor or supplier sues a contractor for unpaid bills, they file a lien. A pattern of liens means the contractor is not paying their bills, which directly predicts whether they will pay yours. This is the single most predictive court signal.

2. Breach of contract lawsuits where the contractor is the defendant. Three or more in five years is a pattern. Read the complaints — are they all "took deposit, did not return" cases? That is fraud, not bad luck.

3. Bankruptcy filings. A Chapter 7 in the last 24 months is a red flag (debts discharged means prior creditors got nothing); a Chapter 11 or 13 (reorganization) is less severe but still meaningful. Search at pacer.uscourts.gov.

4. Federal tax liens (IRS) and state tax liens. Filed against the business or the qualifier personally. A pattern of tax liens means the contractor is in active financial distress.

5. Judgments. A judgment (whether paid or unpaid) means a court found the contractor liable. Unpaid judgments are more predictive than paid ones.

How to search a county court: most counties post case search at the court's website (e.g., maricopa.gov/192/Civil-Court-Records, courts.ca.gov for California superior courts, ncgs.org for North Carolina). Search by business name (try variations — "ABC Construction LLC" vs "ABC Construction" vs "ABC Builders"), by the personal name of the qualifying party, and by the personal name of the LLC's registered agent. Phoenix contractors often have multiple entity names but the same personal name behind them.

What to do with the results: a single dispute means nothing. A pattern (3+ in 5 years) means the contractor's failure mode is documented. Read the complaints to understand what went wrong on prior jobs.

Groundcheck (earthmove.io/trust) pulls federal court records (PACER/CourtListener) and major-county civil court records for every report. Available counties expand monthly — the Pro tier includes 50+ counties; the free tier shows federal court matches plus state-level case indexes. Always corroborate a court hit at the source by case number before treating it as authoritative.