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Connecticut Collections: How to get paid if you are owed money? Part 3: Steps in the Collection Process
Construction Lien Law: What You Need to Know to Protect Your Company
Bill on Bankruptcy: The Market's Unquenchable Thirst for Junk
In a recent case, the California Court of Appeal held that a contractor could foreclose a mechanic's lien, over the project owner's objection, even though the contractor had not provided a preliminary notice of lien to the...more
The mechanic’s lien is a well-known legal device to ensure those making repairs on an owner’s property have a legal claim to the property if the owner doesn’t make the required payments for those repairs. However, Maryland...more
In the last edition of Under Construction, we offered a basic introduction to Arizona’s mechanics and materialmen’s liens. This time, we discuss the issues related to timing of such liens...more
In an unpublished opinion, a California appeals court has upheld a subcontractor’s mechanics lien claim despite the subcontractor’s failure to strictly follow the procedural requirements set forth in the mechanics lien...more
A mechanics’ lien is a powerful remedy that provides a contractor with a priority lien on a property and a fast means of being made whole if payment is not rendered at the completion of a job. In order to successfully obtain...more
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania concluded 2023 by issuing two opinions that clarify (1) the costs recoverable under the Lien Law and (2) the requirements for perfecting service of a lien claim. Two key takeaways are...more
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...more
A Baltimore Homeowner’s Saga - Baltimore Resident and single mother Deanna Woodward paid off her mortgage 18 years ago. After that, she paid her real estate taxes. So, imagine her surprise when she recently learned that...more
Mechanic’s liens have long been a valuable tool for mechanics and materialmen in the Commonwealth to secure their rights to payment. Yet, despite mechanic’s liens having been in existence for well over a century, properly...more
States struggle to strike the right balance between assuring payments to a contractor who improves real property and a lender whose financing helps make those improvements possible in the first place....more
In an ideal world, the interests of contractor and lender involved in the same construction project are aligned: the project succeeds, and everyone is paid what they’re owed. But when the interests of contractor and lender...more
Bonds can play an essential role in protecting owners from the financial risk associated with liens and other contractor claims on Texas construction projects. Two types of commonly used surety bonds are (1) bonds to...more
Welcome back to the DMV Construction Law Series, where we discuss emergent legal issues important to contractors. This installment looks at the use of the releases that are typically required to be signed with payment...more
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...more
Mechanics' liens on public construction projects are a fact of life. Although they may seem familiar, it does not pay to regard them too casually. Mechanics' liens are statutory creatures, and anyone dealing with them needs...more
Lien claims can pose serious challenges—and immense frustration—for any owner or developer of a private construction project, particularly for those wishing to refinance or sell the property. An owner with a finance...more
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...more
On January 26, 2022, Governor Roy Cooper signed Session Law 2022-1 amending and revising various portions of the North Carolina General Statutes applicable to construction projects in the state. The relevant sections of this...more
Welcome to the DMV Construction Law Series, where each month we examine a different set of legal issues important to contractors. Our fourth installment briefly examines certain key parts of Virginia’s Mechanic’s Lien Law...more
In early June 2021, Governor Abbott signed into law House Bill 2237 (the Bill) that makes substantial changes to the law that establishes the requirement for mechanic’s and materialmen’s liens and bond claims in Texas. ...more
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...more
Important changes to the Georgia law on waivers for mechanic's lien and payment bond claims (lien waivers) are effective January 1, 2021. Under current Georgia law, lien waivers are "conditional," meaning they do not waive...more
On October 26, 2020, we provided an overview of the key features of Bill 37, Builders' Lien (Prompt Payment) Amendment Act, 2020, which is intended to amend the Alberta Builders' Lien Act (BLA) and become the Prompt Payment...more
What recourse does an owner (or other aggrieved party, such as a general contractor who is contractually obligated to remove sub-contractors’ mechanic’s liens) have for removing a mechanic’s lien from the property on which it...more
On August 5, 2020, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed into law a revised version of Georgia’s mechanics’ and materialmen’s lien statute. Under the new law, a claimant’s submission of a statutory lien waiver will only impact...more