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Advancing Agriculture: Security Interests and Article 9 Challenges (Part 2)
Podcast - Credit Funds: Make-Wholes and Cramdowns: Understanding the Recent Second Circuit Momentive Decision
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
One of the most common protections for laborers, contractors, suppliers, and others providing construction services or materials for a project is the right to a lien against the project property for the value of the work...more
On June 17, 2024, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued an opinion of first impression regarding the Prompt Pay Act, M.G.L. c. 149, §29E, holding that a contractor found to have violated the Prompt Pay Act for...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In an unpublished opinion, a California appeals court has upheld a subcontractor’s mechanics lien claim despite the subcontractor’s failure to strictly follow the procedural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
Washington’s construction lien statute, RCW 60.04, balances the interests of persons performing work to improve real property with the interests of property owners in avoiding the necessity of paying for the same work twice....more
This quick reference describes general time requirements for filing lien notices in each state, plus Washington, DC. Seyfarth’s Construction team prepared the survey for use primarily by commercial contractors and real estate...more
Florida’s Construction Lien Law, F.S. 713.001 et seq., was recently amended and includes important changes effective October 1, 2023, about which contractors should know. The following is a brief summary of the changes for...more
Lien on Me – Florida Edition 2023 - Florida’s Construction Lien Law, F.S. 713.001 et seq., was recently amended and includes important changes effective October 1, 2023, about which contractors should know. The following is...more
If you get into a construction dispute concerning payments made to your contractor, subcontractor, or supplier, you want to be sure that your lien waivers are enforceable in your jurisdiction. A lien waiver is an agreement...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
Whether a construction contract contains a pay-if-paid clause and whether such clauses are enforceable are critical to determining a general contractor’s obligation to pay or not pay a subcontractor if the owner has not paid...more
Benjamin Franklin once said, "lost time is never found again". A recent case from the Alberta Court of King's Bench confirms the truth of this statement for any lienholder seeking to initiate a Statement of Claim past their...more
A construction lien is a legal mechanism that helps protect contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers (collectively the “Lien Claimant”) from non-payment for their work on a construction project. In Ontario, construction...more
In the course of reviewing construction subcontracts, I’ve recently seen provisions similar to the following (simplified for convenience and confidentiality): “The subcontractor shall reimburse the [Contractor and/or Owner]...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
In an attempt to reduce delayed payment periods in Alberta, on August 29, 2022, the Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act (the PPCLA) came into force replacing the Builder's Lien Act (the BLA). Although most of the BLA was...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
Lien rights can be one of a contractor's most important means of securing payment on any private construction project in North Carolina. Under Chapter 44A of the North Carolina Statutes, contractors that contract directly...more
North Carolina Avenue is one of the hottest properties in Monopoly, says most of my kids. And if you are a contractor or subcontractor in North Carolina, the law makers recently afforded you some additional protections to...more
Over the last decade of helping the AGC Houston Chapter with their mission of educating construction professionals in the Houston market, I always remind those who attend our lien classes that the Texas Legislature meets...more
In its March 11, 2021 opinion, Division Three of the Washington Court of Appeals considered whether the 90-day period to record a claim of lien is extended by a contractor performing work after substantial completion to...more
The general prohibition against waiving lien rights under Chapter 53 of the Texas Property Code has been written about extensively, and is well known through the industry. However, the Construction Trust Fund Act (Ch. 162 of...more
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...more
A recent New York appellate court decision highlights the danger of contractors, subcontractors and suppliers not having a complete understanding of Section 38 of the Lien Law. It allows the party against whom a mechanic's...more