It is an all-too-common situation in New York: homeowners hire a home improvement contractor only to find out, after a contract dispute arises, that the contractor was unlicensed in violation of local ordinances. While court decisions in these disputes have generally gone in favor of homeowners, a body of case law suggests that the results are by no means so favorable to homeowners when arbitration awards to unlicensed home improvement contractors come up for review. In those cases, the deference of courts to the decisions of a construction litigation attorney creates tension with the public policy of protecting homeowners from unlicensed contractors.