Acanthus, sorry you are having to deal with this. Here is a little advise to get you going and to cool you down.
The shoreland permit will come into play even on marshland, but when you say you are 400 feet away, is that the exact number or a WAG. As soon as you start disturbing soil within 250 feet of a body of water, you are within the grasp of the DES.
Now, this situation is quite common and gives the rest of us in the business, heartburn. First thing is you need to have all your documents reviewed by a lawyer (contracts, receipts, change orders, any email, ALL of it). The lawyer will verify what you need and don't, they may not need half of what you bring, but at least you are prepared. Keep your documents seperate for each contractor you worked with.
The way the State of NH works in relation to contractor/customer disagreements about past work is a nest of sticks, but at the same time fairly clearly defined. Basically, you have to allow the original contractor the opportunity to remedy the situation, if they refuse, then you mention that someone else will repair and you will backcharge for the new contractors cost. If they don't pay then you can try to get a lien attached to something.
Sounds like this ship has sailed on the setup above, not to worry. But you will need a lawyer at this point as the original contractor will most likely not be fun or easy to talk to. The court system will need to be involved. Whether it is binded arbitration, small claims or a civil suit, all depends on the dollar amount and how this type of situation is spelled out in the original contractors contract.
The one thing I would highly recommend not doing is calling the original contractor in your current state. It will not solve a thing and you will be even more angry when you hang up the phone. You may even hurt yourself, by either giving a heads up that you found out they are not qualified and giving a chance to get their ducks in a row or they dissolve and lock down all of the assets that you would be looking for.
In that original contract, it should also state that the winner gets the legal fees paid. Just make sure your in great shape, before jumping in. Any oversite on your part could in fact cost you thousands more if you fail to prove your case.
I wish you the best of luck in this.
Don't be suprised if the current contractor you are working with gets uneasy about this whole situation. None of us really enjoy working with a customer that likes to sue. If you trust them and feel they are there to help, tell them that, they will welcome that feeling.
We were the remedy contractor in a very similar situation this summer, between a customer we never worked with before and our main supplier of materials (who also do in house installations of materials they sell). There contract was not fulfilled to the customers satifaction, we were contacted by her lawyer to review the situation and give a professional opinion and were hired to make it right. Everyone walked away happy and the suit never went beyond getting everyone to sit down at a table.
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