Wisconsin Mechanics Lien Form for Subcontractors

"I contracted a remodel job for a bar/restaurant..." If there is a written contract, are you the party or is your LLC the party? If it is just you, or if there is no written contract and no other good reason why the owner believes they are contracting with an LLC instead of you in your personal capacity, then you are likely not afforded LLC liability protections... There are MANY moving parts to corporate form analysis and limited liability, and we would need to discuss in detail. The main reasons to consider whether income or losses should be run through an LLC or you as a sole proprietor may be for tax purposes. It is likely that income and/or losses will be reported on your Schedule C in your individual tax returns either way, so it may essentially be the same either way. You may have special tax considerations and I am not a tax attorney or a CPA, but I can help you evaluate these issues. However, you may benefit from stepping back for a moment and looking at the big picture. If you want limited liability protections, you will need to treat your LLC like a separate entity. A good start would be to have a separate bank account for the business, referencing your LLC as the contracting party in all of your contracts, a thoughtful single-member LLC operating agreement, and maintaining corporate records and meetings. I handle many small business general counsel and litigation matters. Here are a few examples of issues I have recently dealt with that seem similar to the issues you described above. https://www.michaeljohnsonlegal.com/blog/ When you have a moment, give me a call and lets discuss ways I can be helpful.

It appears this is the exceedingly rare example of a contractor that is not trying to immediately be paid in full... The statute of limitations to enforce a contract in Wisconsin is six years, but it is an odd scenario that the final payment has not been requested. Based on your explanation above, you may be best served by doing nothing and seeing if you receive a demand later. I would document the status of the project with photos and save correspondences. Did you communicate by email? text? other? Make sure to save it. I'm happy to talk further if you would like. my website is michaeljohnsonlegal.com

This is a very interesting fact pattern, and I am sorry you are going through this. In Wisconsin, a lienor (the mechanic) can put a lien on a car without having possession, but it is not immediately apparent to me how the mechanic would enforce this lien in Georgia and if it would cloud your title in Georgia. My initial impression is that you could do nothing and see if he is successful in putting a lien on your vehicle. I realize this is not a very gratifying answer, but I don't know that a more specific response is possible. This fact pattern reminds me of a recent blog I wrote. https://www.michaeljohnsonlegal.com/unjust-enrichment-and-contract-disputes/ In short, the example case in my blog was one where the estimate was much lower than the final bill. The court used unjust enrichment to rule in favor of the mechanic, even though they did not have a contract and the estimate was far lower than the final price. It may apply to your case. Let me know how I can be helpful.