I was sent Bond of affidavit claim form from a surtey company. Do i need to still file a complaint with the courts? Can i get assistance even though ive already completed the administrative process and never got response? Or can i just fill out bond then deposit it with the court? If there a maximum i can seek for damages? Non judicial administrative process do i just go get judgement? Any and all help is appreciated..
If this is a Miller Act (federally funded job) claim as your entry states, and you have provided the appropirate notice to the surety, then yes, youre next step will likely require to file suit to foreclose on the bond claim. Typically the surety will put presure on the non-paying contractor to handle the situation, but sometimes projects can get out of hand and/or complicated, and payments are unfortuatemly witheld.
In these types of situations, the squeaky wheel often gets the oil. The maximum you can seek for damages depends on too many factors to be discussed without knowing more about the facts of the case, as does the potential for recovery of attorney's fees against the surety or non-paying contractor.
If you'd like to discuss you case in greater detail, you can reach me diretly via any method below. Whatever ever you choose to do, you should move quicly and there are strict and short time limitations to file your claims at play.
Very best,
Ben House
281-762-1377
ben@houseperron.com
You absolutelty will still need to timely file a lawsuit in the correct court. I would consider the bond affidavit process more of a stall process by the surety so that you 'feel' content and taken care of while you miss your court fiiling deadlines!! My strong advice is to contact an experiencec construction lawyer as soon as possible to make sure that does not happen.... If this is a federal project, please feel free to reach out to me directly for any additional information or assistance.
Good luck!