Can a contractor legally file a lien on our property?

I am a developer. I had a contract with a contractor to perform a detailed bid on a planned property renovation. I agreed to pay them $4000 for their bid, which would typically be free, as we were expecting a detailed and very reliable estimate. As we only supplied a floorplan, it was implied that there would be necessary discussion to communicate details of the eventual project. I assumed this was necessary for an accurate bid to be performed. They supplied a bid, but did not adequately consult us regarding many of the project details. The job they bid, is not the job we are going to construct and is of no use for us. I paid them $2750 for their time, even though I do not feel like they satisfied their obligation per the contract. I offered many avenues to complete the job and also alternative ways to receive full payment (1. Letting them correct the errors (which would essentially require correcting and rebidding through the subs), 2. Giving me their bids so I could correct their errors, or 3. Simply getting a third party opinion as to whether they completed their obligation) which they refused. Any of these things would result in immediate full payment of the remaining $1250 in the contract. Ultimately they are placing a lien on the property for $1250. My main question, are they even able to place a lien on the property for the services I have described? They did no actual work on the project and the service they provided is not even usable for our future development. As a side note, for comparison, a separate contractor who supplied a typical bid (no charge) for the project, supplied a much more accurate bid after only a couple of meetings at the site. Thank you. This process is very frustrating and your help is appreciated.