I'm a contractor that was hired for a job and not pay. I filed a Notice of Intent to Lien for project and it says Arbitration Demand was due five weeks ago. How should I move foward . I'm in New Jersey
While I can't give you advice on what you should do next, I can help to explain how the New Jersey residential mechanics lien process works. Note that if the project is considered "commercial," then the lien process is much simpler and does not require the multi-step process (and no Arbitration Demand is required).
As mentioned there - filing a NJ residential lien is generally a 3-step process. The first step is filing a "Notice of Unpaid Balance" - which is often likened to a "Notice of Intent to Lien." After that, an Arbitration Demand is sent to the American Arbitration Association. And, after that point, a mechanics lien claim might be filed against the property. Note that each step of the process has its own deadline, so it's important to pay attention to timeframes the entire way through. Missing just one deadline during one of these steps could result in issues pursuing the claim.
For a deep dive on NJ residential liens, this article does an excellent job of explaining everything a claimant must do to pursue residential lien claims there: New Jersey Residential Mechanics Lien: A Convoluted Process.
Finally, if you don't think a lien is available due to some issue such as a missed deadline, other options for payment recovery should still be on the table. For more information on other options, here's a helpful link: Can’t File a Lien? Here Are Some Other Options For Recovery.