I'm a homeowner with a contract with roofer with an agreed upon insurance estimate for 171 items of work on exterior/interior of home. Roofer is claiming all of insurance balance monies of $23,000 however he had $20,000 of Undone items on the list of work to be performed. Roofer filed M.L in SC and the lien only claims the balance due and fails to give Statement of Account for just and true indebtedness , with all proper and just credits given-29-5-90. Is lien invalid?
Generally, mechanics liens are only available to the extent that work has been performed but not paid for. A contractor cannot file a mechanics lien for the entire contract when they have only performed some small portion of the work. As you mention above, South Carolina seems to abide by this general rule: § 29-5-90 of South Carolina's mechanics lien statute calls for the amount that's due to the contractor, with just credits given.
With that in mind, if the contractor has only performed a small portion of the work but has filed a mechanics lien for the entire price of their contract, then there's probably a good chance that the lien is ovestated and rendered invalid or unenforceable as a result. Still - only a court can decide on the validity of a mechanics lien. Though, hiring a local South Carolina construction lawyer can help to review the validity of the claim, and they can advise you on the likelihood of success of challenging the lien. You can begin the search for a South Carolina lawyer here: Top South Carolina Construction Lawyers.
Finally, I think this article should be useful: A Mechanics Lien Was Filed on My Property – What Do I Do Now?