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South CarolinaLien DeadlinesMechanics Lien

Hello, My name is Joe Menth I'm with Spiral Manufacturing; I filed a pre-lien on 2-26-2019 #2205673. I recently filed the Mech lien on 9-5-2019 #2662293. I just came across some information showing that the general contractor I have listed is actually the subcontractor. I need to make this change to the lien I had filed. The lien is in South Carolina, and we are outside of the 90-day period. The sub-contractor however did make a $6,000 payment to us recently. 1. Does that open up the lien activity again so I can release the incorrect lien and file a new one? 2. If I can't, I would still need to file an amendment to the lien to change the general contractor and then the sub-contractor. How will the county file the amendment? Which way is the best approach this problem? The place the work was done was in Graniteville SC, the General Contractor (Tann Corp) is in Kaukauna, WI, and the Sub Contractor (Rendeq) is in Burlington, NC. Rendeq has paid $30,000 down and the $6,000 for our past due request of payment. Rendeq still owes us 78,898.83 from their bill. We also have a fee we can add on for 18% interest for past due accounts. Currently I believe all 3 parties are in court about the job being done. Graniteville Special Fabrics has them in court for not completing the project and has paid everyone for the job. Tann Corp is there for paying the majority of the job to Rendeq and not finishing the work. Rendeq is also there because they are still owed money from Tann Corp. We would like our labor/material cost involved in the court also. That is why after finding out all of this info I need to change the lien to have it correct for the court. As a follow up question; do you guys offer legal assistance in these cases? If you do, what kind of assistance do you provide and do you have a flat rate fee or what are the terms. Thank you Joe Menth Spiral Manufacturing Co., Inc.

1 reply

Sep 11, 2019
The South Carolina mechanics lien deadline is based on the lien claimant last furnished labor or material to the project. Being called back to the job to perform minor work can actually extend the mechanics lien deadline in South Carolina, unlike other states, but the deadline is still based on when work was last performed - not on when payments are made. So, receiving partial payment wouldn't affect the mechanics lien deadline for a South Carolina project. Regarding amending a mechanics lien to correct an error - the South Carolina mechanics lien statute discusses the amendment of pleading and settlement offers, but it does not specifically discuss the amendment of a mechanics lien, itself. However, after taking a quick look at South Carolina's mechanics lien statute, it doesn't appear that the name of the project's general contractor is a requirement in order to have a valid and enforceable mechanics lien in the state. What's more, under § 29-5-100 of the state's lien statute, it appears that relatively minor mistakes made accidentally (rather than willfully or purposefully) will not invalidate a South Carolina mechanics lien claim. So, even in a situation where certain information did need to appear on the lien but was in error, as long as the property subject to lien can be determined, and as long as the amount of the lien or work hasn't been willfully or knowingly exaggerated, a mechanics lien claim shouldn't be ruined based on a simple error. Still, if there's a minor error on a mechanics lien and the lien claimant would like to fix that when enforcing their lien claim, the claimant would likely be able to petition the court, asking for an opportunity to remedy the error. Finally, regarding legal services - Levelset can't provide assistance in enforcing a mechanics lien or pursuing a legal action against anyone on behalf of a user. But there are tools available online that might be able to help - like FindLaw.com and Lawyers.com.
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