As many in the construction industry are aware, owners and lenders often require prime contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers to execute sworn statements and lien waiver and release forms as a prerequisite to payment. Many states therefore see it fit to regulate — in varying degrees — what those forms say and look like. Forms that
How can a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier secure payment for its work? One solution is to file a mechanics’ lien against a project’s property.
Lien laws vary widely from state to state and time to time because contractors and subcontractors frequently seek to change them – California is no exception. One particularly significant rule is
Chapter 53 of the Texas Property Code just received major updates for the first time in years. On June 15, 2021, Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law HB 2237. This bill makes many notable changes to Texas’s lien laws. The construction industry and construction lawyers should take note of these changes to the complex and
An important update to Georgia’s statutory lien waiver laws took effect on January 1, 2021. The amendment to Georgia’s mechanic’s lien law alters the form for interim and final lien waivers. Essentially, the new statute clarifies that lien waivers only waive lien or bond rights against the property and do not waive the right to
Liens represent one of the primary mechanisms by which contractors, subcontractors, and other downstream parties secure payment rights under a construction contract. When utilized properly, filing a lien may induce an owner to release funds that are undisputedly owed to the lienor. However, when a party’s lien filing is delinquent or defective, and the party
Like many states, Minnesota requires subcontractors and suppliers to send pre-lien notices to owners to perfect mechanic’s lien rights. Failure to comply with the pre-lien notice statute can prove fatal to a lien enforcement action as one masonry supplier recently learned. In Timberwall Land & Masonry Products, Inc., the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed
On May 15, 2020, in Geo-technology Associates Inc. v. Capital Station Dover, LLC, the Delaware Supreme Court dismissed an action to enforce a mechanic’s lien because the geotechnical and construction observation services provided by the plaintiff were not covered by Delaware’s mechanic’s lien statute. Per the court, mechanic’s lien rights are available in Delaware
Alabama’s materialman’s lien statute (specifically, Ala. Code § 35-11-211) was intended to provide construction lenders priority over materialmen as to debts relating to construction projects, and this intent was recently confirmed by the Alabama Supreme Court (GHB Construction and Development Co., Inc. v. West Alabama Bank and Trust, 2019 WL 1416893 (Ala. 2019)).
In Florida, to perfect its right to lien a property, a subcontractor is required to submit a Notice to Owner (NTO) within 45 days of commencing its work. Among other requirements, the NTO must list the contractor’s name and be served upon the owner and any party designated for service by the owner within the