I Didn’t File My Lien On Time…Now What?

Over the weekend, I answered a question over on Avvo.com about mechanic liens that gets asked very often, and I thought it was a good idea to share here.

The question is this: What are my legal rights as a contractor if my lien is not filed on time?

The question was asked related to Washington law, but the answer is applicable around the nation. Mechanic liens are an excellent remedy – and I highly recommend preserving and using these rights when needed. However, they are not a contractor’s only remedy.

What other rights does a contractor have? Take a look at my answer here:

Liens are a terrific remedy for contractors. If you’re unpaid and file your lien on time, you acquire security rights against the property itself and are legally able to file suit against parties who you did NOT contract with (i.e. the property owner, if you are a sub).

However, if you don’t file a lien, you still have plenty of legal rights to recover what is owed to you.

Your rights, however, are exclusively against the party who you contract with. You have an action against them for breach of contract. The period to bring this suit is quite a bit longer, between 3-6 years, depending on the type of contract.*

*This is the statute for Washington. Remember that the statute of limitations will be different depending on your state.

It’s important to contact a great construction attorney to bring a breach of contract suit if you are unpaid, and are too late to proceed with lien rights. Find a construction attorney in your area at Avvo.com.

This article was originally posted on Zlien’s topic-specific Construction Lien Blog.

Celebrating Our 5th Year Blogging – Simplified Look and Free Construction Resources

Happy Birthday to Wolfe Law Group’s construction law blog, the Construction Law Monitor.    To celebrate, we’ve made things a lot better on our site.

We’re now in our 5th year of blogging about construction law issues that matter to contractors, subcontractors and suppliers across the country…and all of our postings and tagging has transformed the Monitor into a leading construction law resource.

To celebrate the milestone, we’ve made things even better.

First, we’ve simplified our design.   Posts on the left, topics on the right, and a search bar at the top.   We’ve even gone through the site and re-tagged and re-categorized each post to make it more intuitive for folks to find posts on-topic.

Second – and we’re most excited about this – we’ve added a Resources Page with free construction law resources.   Highlights of the free Resoucres include:

• Construction Law Blog Directory.   This is the only directory of construction law focused blogs on the web.  We list them all outright, but also sort and organize the blogs by state and topic (green building v. chinese drywall, for example).   Something missing?   You can add your link to our directory by filling out the form at the bottom of the directory’s page.
• Avvo Legal Guides and Answers.    Wolfe Law Group participates in the legal Q&A forum and publication of legal guides at the lawyer-rating website, Avvo.com.   We stream those answers and guides to you on the Monitor.
• Free Forms and Documents.   Powered by JD Supra, we provide visitors with free forms, legal pleadings, and other types of documents.
• Webinars.   Our webinars and construction law presentations, powered by SlideShare.

Third (and finally), we’ve brought back three Special Feature category of posts:  (1) About our Services; (2) Around the Web; and (3) From the Experts.

We’ll build upon the Resources page as time goes by, and continue posting about important  construction law issues.   You can subscribe the the Monitor by RSS Feed, by following us on Twitter, or liking us on Facebook.

Great Avvo Legal Guide Available With Information on Florida Lien Laws

Florida attorney Neal Ian Sklar just this week published a really informative Legal Guide about Florida Construction Liens over at the lawyer rating website, Avvo.com.

The guide starts out by identifying the “dual purpose” of Florida’s construction lien statutes. While the author is speaking about Florida law only, the “dual purpose” breakdown is really applicable across the country.

What is this dual purpose?

Well, on the one hand, lien statutes are crafted to protect contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and design professional’s right to get paid for work put into a project. The law, in other words, doesn’t want a property owner to benefit from the improvements to property without paying the folks who put the time and materials therein.

You may be thinking “of course.”

The other purpose is a bit more hidden in the statutes. That purpose is to protect property owners from having their property improperly or unreasonably encumbered.

To balance these two purposes, lien laws across the country can sometimes feel schizophrenic.

Neal’s legal guide over on Avvo discusses the Florida lien laws in this context, and he does a good job of explaining how the two purposes are served by the Florida statutes.

While lien laws vary from state-to-state, understanding the “dual purposes” of these statutes provides contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and others a big picture understanding of how these statutes work…which, although each state’s laws are different, gives them a good grasp on the general rules they’ll need to follow to successfully use the laws.

And when a state’s specific requirements are needed…consult a great legal guide like Neal’s.

This article was originally posted on Express Lien’s topic-specific Construction Lien Blog.

How to Collect on a NSF Check in Oregon

Two weeks ago, we posted an article on How To Collect on a NSF Check in Washington.  Today, we address the same issue under the laws of Oregon.

In the construction business, NSF checks are a fact of life.   And sometimes, the NSF checks may cause big problems because they’re written in amounts that exceed $10,000, $50,000 or $100,000.

In Oregon, like in Washington, those who draft NSF checks have a specific window of time to make payment on the check amount, or be subjected to statutory penalties and their adversaries litigation costs.

I just published a Legal Guide on Avvo that gives step by step instructions to folks on how to collect against a NSF check.   Unlike many states, like Washington and Louisiana, that requires the use of particular forms and language, the Oregon statutes are very bland in their requirements.   To charge interest, penalties and legal expenses on a party who writes a hot check in Oregon, the recieving party need only send a written notice of the NSF check.   There’s no requirements as to the form of the notice, or how the notice should be sent.

Although, of course, we have our recommendations.

In sending the notice, you should send it through some service that allows your company to track its mailing and delivery.   In writing the notice, be certain that you identify the check in question, and indicate that if the check isn’t paid within 30 days, you’ll seek interest, penalties, attorneys fees and other costs allowed by the Oregon statutes.

This article was originally posted on Wolfe Law Group’s topic-specific Northwest Construction Law Blog.

How To Collect NSF Checks in Washington, Oregon and Louisiana

In today’s economy, NSF checks are becoming a fact of life for those in the construction industry.   When it comes to your company’s collections problems, however, receipt of NSF checks may not be all that bad.

That’s because nearly every state imposes stiff penalties against those who pass hot checks.   What type of penalties you ask?   If you’re forced to collect on an NSF check, you’ll likely be entitled to attorneys fees, legal costs and interest, and that’s in addition to statutory liquidated damages that can be as stiff as double the amount of the check.

In all the states where I practice (Oregon, Washington & Louisiana), there exists powerful statutes designed to deter bad checks.  If you receive a NSF check, it’s important you follow the procedures of these statutes to ensure you will qualify for the penalties.

Over the past few days, I’ve been contacted by folks about NSF check collections a bit more than usual, and so I spent some time over the weekend drafting short and understandable step-by-step guides on how to collect on a NSF check in these three states.

We published them as Legal Guides over at Avvo.com.   Take a look at them here:

How to Collect on NSF Check in Louisiana

How to Collect on NSF Check in Washington

Step-By-Step Guide to Filing Miller Act Claims at Avvo.com

In today’s economic climate, even contractors who typically work on private projects are testing the waters with federal and state construction works.  And unfortunately, these newcomers are finding themselves a bit lost in procedures when it comes time to get paid.

In the event a federal project (or GC on a federal project) goes sour, contractors and materials suppliers must turn to the Miller Act as a remedy.

We talk about Miller Act Claims on this blog here and there, but there are some other great resources out there on the topic.  Take a look at the Miller Act conversations on the Construction Lien Blog or the Federal Construction Contracting Blog for example.

In addition to these resources, I’ve just published a Legal Guide on Avvo.com titled “How to File A Mechanics Lien.”

It breaks down the process in four steps, easy on the eyes:

1. Determine if you have the right to file a claim
2. Send Miller Act Notice to the prime contractor within 90 days from last furnishing labor/materials
3. Sent Notice to the surety (optional)
4. File Suit Against the Bond within 1 year from last furnishing labor/materials

Take a look at it over on Avvo.com by clicking here.

Avvo Legal Guides on Oregon and Louisiana Liens Published

Want a step-by-step guide on how to file construction or mechanic liens in Louisiana or Oregon?   Your call has been answered this weekend with the publication of Avvo Legal Guides on both these subjects, which you can view here:

How to File a Construction Lien in Oregon

How to File a Construction Lien in Louisiana

These two legal guides offer plain english explanations on how to prepare and file a construction lien in either of these states.

The two above-listed legal guides were written and published by Scott Wolfe Jr., the founding attorney of Wolfe Law Group.  He previously published a similar legal article on Avvo.com about filing construction liens in Washington, which you can read here.

How to Challenge an Improperly Filed Construction Lien

Scott Wolfe, a construction attorney in Louisiana, Washington & Oregon, and he recently published two legal guides on the attorney rating website, Avvo.com.   The two articles discuss how to dispute a construction lien in Louisiana and Washington state.

Here are links to the articles:

• How To Dispute A Construction Lien in Louisiana
• How To Dispute a Construction Lien in Washington State

The article even points readers to a free template letter demanding the cancellation of an improperly filed lien.

What makes a lien invalid?  Read about common filing mistakes over at construction lien blog.

How To Dispute A Louisiana Construction Lien

Louisiana lien laws are codified in La. R.S. 9:4801, which is referred to as the Louisiana Private Works Act.  While the state has some notice requirements, it is generally a non-notice state [read about notice requirements for Louisiana here].

But what happens when a lien is filed improperly?

Depending on your perspective, it’s either fortunate or unfortunate that parish recording offices are required to file mechanic’s lien upon presentation.

So…if a subcontractor liens a project for $10 million when he’s only owed $35.00, the lien is recorded.   If a laborer liens a project five years after its substantially complete, the lien is recorded.  Or if the lien fails to include information required by law, it is still recorded.

While the construction or mechanic’s lien may be legally improper, it gets on the books, and that means it can have the effect of preventing a sale, transfer or refinancing of the property.

The Private Works Act provides a procedure by which any interested party can dispute the validity of a construction lien.  If they are successful at removing the lien, the Act provides the disputing party the ability to recover attorneys fees and costs.

Scott Wolfe recently published a Legal Guide on the national lawyer ranking website, Avvo.com.  The guide is titled “How to Dispute a Construction Lien in Louisiana,” and guides an interested party through these three steps:

1)  Answer the Obvious Question:  Is the Lien Improper?  [read common mistakes]

2)  Make Written Demand for Cancellation of the Lien [see template letter]

3)  File Suit to Demand Removal of the Lien [see similar lawsuit]

Read the legal guide in full at Avvo.com by clicking here.

Wolfe Law Group frequently works with clients who dispute the validity of construction and mechanics liens in Louisiana and Washington.   Contact us today for more information about how to demand the cancellation of a construction or mechanic’s lien filed against your property, or on your project.

Louisana Has 2nd Most Chinese Drywall, But Washington on the Map

This blog is published by Wolfe Law Group, a construction law practice with offices in Seattle, WA and New Orleans, LA.

Thus far, the blog has focused a great deal on Louisiana news and law related to Chinese Drywall – and the reason is simple:  The amount of imported Chinese Drywall in Louisiana is second only to Florida.

Further, Chinese Drywall was by and large imported into Gulf Coast states like Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and Texas.

While the state of Washington is clearly worlds apart from the Gulf Coast region…it’s not out of the woods insofar as Chinese Drywall in concerned.  In fact, its among the 12 U.S. states who have imported at least 1 million pounds of tainted drywall from China since January 1, 2006.

A helpful graphic based on data published by the Herald Tribune shows that Washington has imported 2,437,491 pounds of Chinese Drywall since January 1 2006, which is enough to build approximately 270 homes.

As lawsuits gather stem in Florida and Louisiana, and across the Gulf Coast, Washington contractors and suppliers ought to remain viligent and cautious of Chinese Drywall claims.

Have questions about what to do if you installed or supplied tainted drywall?  We wrote an Avvo Legal Guide on the topic here…and you can always contact Wolfe Law Group.

This post originally appeared on Wolfe Law Group’s topic-specific Chinese Drywall Blog.