Maine Notice of Lien Form

I am sorry to hear about the issues you have been having recently. 

If you have not filed a mechanics lien yet, there are several steps that need to be filed to do so. In general, if contractors and suppliers don't get paid on a construction project in Maine, they can file a mechanics lien to secure payment. A mechanics lien is a helpful legal tool that provides parties that have failed to be paid with a security interest in the property. If you plan to file a mechanics lien in Maine to secure payment in which you are owed, there are several important deadlines you need to keep in mind to maintain your mechanics lien rights.   

If you have already filed a mechanics lien and payment has still not been received or set up, there are several steps you can take after your lien is filed to enforce payment. 

In your case, it will likely be helpful to send a Notice of Intent to Foreclose. If your phone calls or emails don't elicit payment or a payment plan, it's time to escalate the claim. This can be achieved by sending a Notice of Intent to Foreclose. The notice serves as the final warning!! A Notice of Intent to Foreclose tells the party that they have one more opportunity to pay or your mechanics lien will be foreclosed upon. At this point, mark a reasonable amount of days (typically around 7) on your calendar for them to respond. Make another phone call or send another email if you think it’s worth it. If that date comes and goes with no payment plan set up, it’s time to move onto the final step.

The final step you can pursue after filing your mechanics lien is to file a foreclosure lawsuit. To file a foreclosure action, you will need to hire an attorney because this is a lawsuit after all. In most cases, even if your claim value is very low, this is not something you can pursue in small claims court alone. One last thing to keep in mind is that there is a deadline to enforce your mechanics lien claim. If you were to miss your deadline then you will lose all leverage you managed to build by filing the claim in the first place. Good luck!

Maine mechanic’s lien law provides as follows: “Whoever performs labor or furnishes labor or materials, . . . or performs services as a surveyor, an architect, a forester licensed under Title 32, chapter 76 or an engineer, or as a real estate licensee, or as an owner-renter, owner-lessor, or owner-supplier of equipment used in erecting, altering, moving or repairing a house, building or appurtenances, . . . including the surveying, clearing, grading, draining, excavating or landscaping of the ground adjacent to and upon which any such objects are constructed, or in selling any interest in land, improvements or structures, by virtue of a contract with or by consent of the owner, has a lien thereon and on the land on which it stands and on any interest such owner has in the same, to secure payment thereof, with costs.” What this means is you need to perform labor, furnish labor or materials, or perform services in one of the capacities listed above used in erecting, altering, moving, or repairing your neighbor’s property to potentially be able to record a mechanic’s lien on their property. I cannot tell from the facts in your question whether you would be able to record such a lien. That said, sometimes a demand letter from an attorney will prompt a response that can lead to a resolution of matters of this type.

You may want to consider “bonding off” the mechanic’s lien. You can petition a court to release the mechanic’s lien in exchange for you providing a surety bond in an amount sufficient to pay the amount of the asserted claim. The surety bond then replaces your property as security for the mechanic’s lien claim. Many times, this can be done by agreement between the parties.

10 M.R.S. § 3263 provides: “Any owner of a building . . . or real estate upon which a lien is claimed may petition in writing the judge or justice of the court in which the lien action is filed setting forth the name of the lienor, the court and county or division in which the action is pending, the fact that a lien is claimed thereon under sections 3251 to 3254, the particular building . . . or real estate, and his interests therein, its value and his desire to have it released from said lien. The judge or justice shall issue a written notice which shall be served on the lienor or his attorney 10 days at least prior to the time fixed therein for a hearing. At the hearing, the judge or justice may order such owner to give bond to the lienor in such amount and with such sureties as he may approve, conditioned to pay the amount for which such lienor may be entitled to a lien as determined by the court, with his costs in the action, within 30 days after final decree or judgment. The clerk shall give the plaintiff an attested copy of the complaint and proceedings, with a certificate under seal of the court attached thereto, that such bond has been duly filed in his office. The record of such copy and certificate in the registry of deeds, in the county or district where such real estate or interest therein lies, vacates the lien.”

Keep in mind that “bonding off” the mechanic’s lien does not resolve the underlying dispute about whether and how much, if anything, the lienor is entitled to be paid.