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Are we still within our timeframe to perfect a mechanics lien?

Illinois

The general contractor on this Chicago project has not been responsive. We were last on this job site on 10/8/21. Does the state of IL allow for late Notice of Intent? Please advise some options we have available to us towards the property at this point?

3 replies

Jan 19, 2022

Your question implies that you are a subcontractor on a project, and that your last day of work was October 08, 2021. You want to know your options. The answer comes in parts:

First, to enforce a Mechanics Lien against the project, Illinois law requires you to foreclose within 90 days of the last day of work. In other words, to enforce your lien you should file a suit to foreclose, immediately

Second, the alternative to foreclosing your Mechanics Lien will be to directly sue the General Contractor for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and potentially for breach of fidciary duty (ie it was been determined that General Contractors hav e a fiduciary duty to pay their subs). You have 5, or even 10, years to file such a suit - depending on whether you used a written contract with the General.

I hope this information has been helpful. Best of luck!

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Jan 19, 2022

Thanks Mayzar. Yes we are the subcontractor on the job. IL requires a Notice of Intent be sent prior to filing mechanics lien within 90 days. Is a late notice allowed? We were last on the job 10/8, technically we are just over 10 days of expiration

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Jan 19, 2022

Good Afternoon - I'm afraid that late noticing is not permitted. That said, it is not the notice of lien that should concern you. If you are over the 90-day limit, then you could not even file a suit to foreclose. That is why I would recommend looking at the alternatives I set out. Good luck.

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