Recently, the Oregon Court of Appeals reinstated a contractor’s mechanics lien claim notwithstanding the owner’s offer of payment because the offer was conditioned on the contractor signing a broad lien waiver that would have released other claims.  See, Development Northwest, Inc. v. Zhiryada, 329 Or. App. 427 (December 6, 2023).   

After completing its work, the

Another week, another fee-shifting case. This ones involves a 28-unit condo project in the Houston Heights neighborhood of Houston (see 2017 Yale Development, LLC v. Steadfast Funding, LLC, 2023 WL 3184028 (Tex. App. May 2, 2023)). The project failed after the developer defaulted on its loans and several contractors filed liens on the property. 

In Alabama, a lien claimant must file a lawsuit to enforce its mechanic’s lien within six months of the maturation of the entire indebtedness in the Alabama state circuit court in the county where the subject property is located (Ala. Code §§ 35-11-220, -221, -222). But as an out-of-state owner or contractor, what if you

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

Texas’s Major Lien Law Makeover: What You Need to KnowChapter 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

Georgia Legislature Amends Mechanic’s Lien LawAn 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

Fraudulently Filing Lien Backfires on ContractorLiens 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

Notice Your Lien or Kiss it GoodbyeLike 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

No Mechanic’s Lien Rights for Providers of Geotechnical and Construction Observation Services in DelawareOn 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