Roofer started work before told to by insurance

[Chris M.]

Almost a year a storm damaged my roof. I was told by several roofers that it couldn't be patched and needed to be redone. I hired a lawyer to fight the insurance company which claimed only a few shingles needed to be replaced.

Finally, after almost a year the lawyers were able to get the insurance to an arbitration where everyone meets on site at the house to inspect it and agree upon an amount the insurance would pay.

I had already found a roofer and scheduled him in email form to start work 2 days after the arbitration date. However, the roofer started the day before the arbitration date, against authorization, destroying the evidence so my lawyers told me that the insurance won't cover anything. This is entirely the roofers fault.

Now I'm fighting the roofer because he wants payment.  I've already asked him for a discount to settle the issue but he had refused.  If I don't pay him he could put a lien on the house.

What should I do? A few options I see are just to pay him, to sue him in small claims or wait and fight the lien later. What if I quitclaimed it to another llc?

Thanks