Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>2 Questions. 1. when filing a Bond Claim/Public claim which state laws would apply? 2. in IL we have 90 days to file a public claim and enforce but we are leasing equipment to be ussed on a project.

2 Questions. 1. when filing a Bond Claim/Public claim which state laws would apply? 2. in IL we have 90 days to file a public claim and enforce but we are leasing equipment to be ussed on a project.

Question 1 situation: We are leasing equipment to a company out of IL but they are doing the actual work in CT-- who's laws do we have to follow when getting the Bond Claim and/ Public Claim? Question 2 situation: Same company as in questions 1, based on IL public claims we have 90 days to file public claim and then to enforce however the project started on 3/25/19 but will be about a year to complete so they will need our equipment the whole time -- if it goes over there will be more charges so it is impossible for us to enforce a public claim if it's based on the drop date of the equipment since in 90 days they would not really even begin the project and based on the lease barley even invoiced at that point.. Or is it based off of the last date the equipment was used -- that would cover the duration of the project.

1 reply

Apr 18, 2019

Great questions! First: When looking to see what state's lien or bond laws will apply, the laws of the state where the work is being performed will apply. The second question is an interesting one. Let's look at deadlines for filing and enforcing bond claims made in Illinois, then do the same for Connecticut to cover all bases. In Illinois, the deadline to make a bond claim is 180 days from the last furnishing of labor and/or materials to the project, and a lien on funds doesn't have a specific deadline. The term "last furnishing" can be a little misleading when it comes to equipment renters. For subcontractors and suppliers, last furnishing is generally pretty obvious - it's the last day when the sub or supplier performed work on the job or provided materials for the project. But, for equipment renters, the last furnishing date will typically refer to the last time that party provided equipment to the project, as set out by the contract. So, the last time when the equipment is used for the improvement of the property will generally serve as the last furnishing date for an equipment renter. Now, once the claim is filed, there's a secondary deadline - the deadline to enforce. Once an Illinois bond claim is made, the claimant will have 1 year from their last furnishing to file suit to enforce the claim. For a claim on funds, that enforcement deadline is shortened to 90 days from the date when the claim on funds was filed. In Connecticut, the deadlines to file a bond claim or a claim on the contract funds will depend on whether the amounts owed to the claimant have been included in their customer's submissions for payment. If so, the timeframe to make a claim is between 60 and 180 days after the time when payment was due. If those amounts were not submitted by the customer already, the timeframe is between 60 and 180 days after last furnishing. The deadline to enforce such a claim is 1 year from the last furnishing date. But, if the claim was strictly for retainage, then it's 1 year from the date when retainage was due. I hope this was helpful! For more background on both Illinois and Connecticut rules on public project payment recovery, these resources should be helpful: Connecticut Public Project Overview and Illinois Public Project Overview.

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