Henrico contractor’s license revoked after unexpected closure, legal battles

HENRICO, Va. (WWBT) - Henrico home remodel and renovation company Fabling Built can no longer operate after agreeing to give up its license to the state.

After unexpectedly closing in March, the company has faced lawsuits from former clients and other companies. Fabling Built told clients it was closing due to financial difficulties.

Fabling Built, started by Casey Fabling in 2016, once held a Class A contractors license. A Class A allows the company to work on projects valued at $120,000 or more.

Several Fabling Built clients tell the On Your Side Investigators they chose to take legal action to get their money back because work either abruptly stopped or never even started on their homes after they made deposits and payments.

According to records from the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, DPOR, a complaint was filed by Henrico homeowners on March 26, days after the company announced its closure. The agency began to investigate.

According to DPOR, Fabling Built failed to construct a sunroom addition, laundry room, and attached garage and renovate two bathrooms. The former clients who launched the complaint say from Oct. 2022 to Jan. 2023, they paid Fabling Built $169,000.

The total value of the project was more than $425,000. Work started on the home in January, but work stopped on March 15, the same day the business closure was announced via e-mail.

DPOR found that Fabling Built retained funds for work that was not performed or only performed in part.

During the investigation, Casey Fabling told a DPOR Investigator, “There are no assets to complete any remaining projects. The company worked with other local contractors and project managers to transfer the active projects to continue and complete them.”

DPOR also followed up with a client and two companies that filed warrants in debt against Fabling Built. All three were awarded judgments for money owed to them by Fabling Built. The Richmond City and Henrico County Clerk’s office confirmed with DPOR that Fabling Built failed to pay the judgments.

The company was ultimately found violating several Board of Contractors regulations and, on June 20, agreed to revoke its license.

Fabling Built’s legal battles continue, as it faces hundreds of thousands of dollars in lawsuits and warrants in debt. In May 2023, Atlantic Union Bank filed suit against the company for more than $521,000.

In an April 20 e-mail to 12 On Your Side, Casey Fabling wrote:

• For clients who have put a deposit or started and have invested money into their unfinished project, the first step is to file a warrant in debt with the courts against Fabling Built LLC. I will not contest these so they can get a judgment as quickly as possible. They can then take these and file with the Contractor Recovery Fund to get some of their money back. https://www.dpor.virginia.gov/Boards/Contractors_Recovery_Fund
• Permits cannot be transferred. However, work can be completed under an existing permit. The new contractor will likely want a new permit in their license, and from what I have heard, the counties and city have been working with homeowners and new contractors to get new licenses assigned. I am responding to all requests for information on these. I will also send a signed release letter on our letterhead so that the permit documents and plans can be released to the homeowner or their new contractor.

The On Your Side Investigators reached out to Casey Fabling again for comment about the license revocation. He has not responded yet.

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