Construction Law Blog
Expert analysis on mechanic liens, bond claims, and payment recovery. Every article reviewed for accuracy by licensed attorneys.
Showing 1–24 of 213 articles
On a California state or local public works project, a lower-tier subcontractor or supplier must send its preliminary notice to the public entity and the prime contractor. Notice only to the company that hired you is not enough. Here is who must receive it, who is exempt, and what three Court of Appeal decisions teach about getting it wrong.
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A preliminary notice protects lien and bond rights only if you can prove it was served on the right party, by an authorized method, on time. Mailing rules differ sharply by state. Here is how California, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Georgia, Washington, Michigan and Illinois treat service, and what belongs in every notice file.
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A pay-if-paid clause can shift the owner's nonpayment risk to the subcontractor. A pay-when-paid clause usually only affects timing. Whether either one is enforceable, and whether it can touch your lien or bond rights, depends on the state. Here is how thirteen states and the Miller Act treat them.
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When an owner or contractor records a lien release bond, the property is released and your claim moves to the substitute security. The bond does not decide who is right, and it often does not give you more time. Here is how bonding off works in ten states, what the bond must cover, and which deadlines now control.
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In several states, money paid to a contractor for a specific project is held in trust for the subcontractors and suppliers on that project. Diverting it can expose the people who controlled the money to personal liability, and sometimes to criminal charges. Here is how Texas, Michigan, New York, Illinois, Colorado, New Jersey and Washington treat construction trust funds.
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Subcontractors and suppliers cannot lien a Texas public project. Their protection is the prime contractor's payment bond under Government Code Chapter 2253, Texas's Little Miller Act. The monthly notice deadlines are short and strictly applied. Here is who can claim, when each notice is due, what it must include, and when to sue.
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On a California public works project, the stop payment notice and the payment bond claim run on separate clocks. A subcontractor that missed the 30-day stop notice deadline may still have six more months to sue on the bond. Here is how the dates work, with a worked public school example.
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Usually no. Montana exempts improvements that are partly or wholly commercial in character from the notice of right to claim lien. Here is what the exception covers, what JTL Group decided, and what a subcontractor still has to do to keep the lien alive.
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Texas runs subcontractors on two clocks: a monthly notice of claim and a lien affidavit, each keyed to the month you last worked. Miss either and the lien is gone. Here are the current deadlines, what the affidavit has to say, where it gets filed, and how residential projects tighten every date.
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In an unpaid-balance lien state, the calendar deadline to record your lien is only half the race. The hidden second deadline is the moment the owner finishes paying the general contractor - because that payment can shrink or erase the fund your lien attaches to. This guide explains both deadlines, why subcontractors and suppliers lose money even when they file 'on time,' and the notice-and-timing strategy that protects your leverage.
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Connecticut treats original contractors and lower-tier claimants differently. This guide covers the lower-tier notice of intent, the 90-day certificate recording deadline, the 30-day owner-service requirement, the one-year foreclosure-and-lis-pendens deadline, the lienable-fund limit on subcontractor liens, who can claim, and how Home Improvement Act and New Home Construction registration affect enforcement.
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Delaware enforces mechanics liens through a strictly construed statement of claim filed in Superior Court. This guide covers the 180-day and 120-day filing deadlines, the prior-written-consent rule for tenant work, the statement-of-claim pleading elements, the $25 threshold, who can claim, and Delaware contractor registration and business licensing.
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A full-role overview of Colorado mechanics lien law: the 10-day notice of intent before recording, the notice of nonliability, the 4-month and 2-month recording deadlines, the 6-month suit-and-recorded-notice requirement, who can claim, and why Colorado contractor licensing is mostly local. For a subcontractor-focused deadline walkthrough, see our companion guide.
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Alaska handles preliminary notice, deadlines, and registration differently from most states. This guide covers the optional but important notice of right to lien, the 120-day claim-of-lien deadline and the 15-day notice-of-completion trap, why Alaska does not use full price vs unpaid balance liens, who can claim, how AS 08.18 contractor registration can bar enforcement, and the 6-month suit/extension window.
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Arkansas lien rights turn on strict notice compliance. This guide covers the residential Important Notice to Owner, the commercial 75-day notice, the 10-day notice before filing, the 120-day lien filing deadline, the 15-month foreclosure-and-lis-pendens deadline, who can claim, and how contractor licensing under Ark. Code Ann. § 17-25-101 et seq. can bar enforcement.
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Alabama lien rights turn on notice, short deadlines, and licensing. This guide covers who must give notice and when, the lien statement deadlines by claimant type (6 months, 4 months, and 30 days), full price versus unpaid balance liens, who has lien rights and who does not, how licensing can void a contract and lien, and the 6-month suit-to-enforce window.
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Florida's Notice of Commencement is not a lien and not a contract - but it is the gateway document that makes the state's construction lien system work. Here is who records it, what it must contain, when it expires, and how it ties directly to the Notice to Owner and the Claim of Lien.
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Illinois subcontractors and suppliers protect payment rights by serving the 90-day notice, recording within 4 months to protect priority, and filing suit within 2 years. This guide explains the deadlines, residential traps, trust-fund issues, and public-works alternatives.
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Colorado subcontractors and suppliers usually protect payment rights by serving a Notice of Intent, recording a lien within 4 months, and filing suit within 6 months. Here is how the deadlines work, what commonly goes wrong, and how public-works bond claims differ.
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You cannot lien a federal courthouse, an Army base, or a VA hospital. On a federal construction project the payment bond is your security, and two Miller Act deadlines decide whether you collect: a 90-day notice and a one-year suit window.
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On a Florida private commercial project, missing the 45-day Notice to Owner deadline destroys your lien rights - and the attorney-fee clause in your subcontract will not save you. A side-by-side story of one missed step worth a million dollars.
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A general contractor's bankruptcy filing can devastate unpaid subcontractors and suppliers. Here is what you need to do immediately to protect lien, bond, and preference positions.
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A first-person account of resolving a stalled New York high-rise project where a window parts manufacturer and general contractor were locked in litigation. The attorney brokered a phased payment plan that broke the deadlock and got the windows installed.
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A walkthrough of filing a Little Miller Act claim on a Missouri public project, covering how to obtain bond information, the 90-day notice expectations, claim deadlines tied to bond terms, and lawsuit timing.
Read ArticleConstruction lien deadlines are strict and unforgiving. Once they pass, your right to payment may be gone forever.