Law Brief: Lien Times: Securing Mechanics Liens for Preconstruction Services
Benefits of a Stop Notice for Construction Contractors
Hot to Get Paid: Tips and Tricks for Construction Companies in DC, MD, and VA
The Texas Legislature is currently in session and is scheduled to adjourn on June 2, 2025. Porter Hedges is actively monitoring any legislation that influences Texas construction law and impacts construction projects,...more
A federal judge in New York served up a good reminder last week about the importance of dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s when it comes to perfecting a mechanic’s lien. The case involves a payment dispute between a...more
Liens provide a means of recourse for contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers who have not been paid. In Washington, there are specific disclosure requirements that must be met before a licensed and registered contractor...more
Welcome to our year-end issue of The Site Report! As always, the construction industry is ever-changing and is impacted by extreme weather, new technology, labor issues, material and supply chain restraints, and code changes....more
During any construction project, unanticipated impacts and revisions to project scope, schedule and cost are almost inevitable. For example, access delays and disruptions arise, unusually severe weather conditions are...more
Contractors, subcontractors, laborers, and material suppliers who perform work or labor upon or furnish materials in furtherance of any improvement undertaken by virtue of a contract with an owner, part owner, or lessee have...more
A mechanics’ lien affords unpaid contractors, subcontractors, laborers, and/or material suppliers a security interest in the property’s real estate and title. A blanket lien is a type of mechanics’ lien that covers more than...more
Pay-if-paid clauses are conditional payment provisions regularly included in construction subcontracts. The intent of these clauses is to shift the risk of loss from a prime contractor to its subcontractors by making a...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In an unpublished opinion, a California appeals court has upheld a subcontractor’s mechanics lien claim despite the subcontractor’s failure to strictly follow the procedural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
Welcome to our third issue of 2024 for our construction industry insights e-newsletter - The Site Report. In honor of last week’s Women in Construction Week, last Friday’s International Women’s Day, and Women’s History...more
General Contractors may seek to condition payments to Subcontractors by using “pay-if-paid” or “pay-when-paid” clauses in their contracts. Typically, as the name suggests, pay-when-paid provisions concern the timing of...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
Lenders on commercial real estate projects typically require that the general contractor subordinate its mechanics’ lien rights to the lender’s deed of trust and other financing documents in order to assure the lender that...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
Contractors or subcontractors who perform offsite work can face unique challenges when an owner decides to suspend or end a project. Luckily, states including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, have legislation that offers remedies...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
Construction law is NOT boring, at least that’s what I tell my daughters. In these series of posts, I will explore some of the VERY interesting historical facts about construction law that can be used at your next motion...more
Property owners are often confronted with a contractor threatening a mechanic’s lien on their property. These liens may stem from a dispute between them and their contractor, or even between a subcontractor and a general...more
Welcome to the DMV Construction Law Series, where each month we will examine a different set of legal issues important to contractors. Our first entry in the series discusses the timing of filing mechanic’s liens. Future...more
In the 2020 COVID-19 year, there were not that many construction-related cases decided by the California Courts of Appeal, and none by the California Supreme Court. However, there were a number of interesting cases that raise...more
The California Court of Appeal recently discussed an owner's remedies (and some limits to those remedies) when a contractor improperly records a mechanic's lien. According to the court's analysis, the owner's primary remedy...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
Whether you are the owner or the general contractor, dealing with mechanic’s liens filed by subcontractors or suppliers can be frustrating and, in some cases, present the very real threat of having to pay twice for work or...more