I have an agreement with a painter for 8500, he has been paid 5000 so far and has not completed the work. The last draw of 3500 was due with work completed, he is now claiming work complete, I have pics to prove its not complete, he has not shown up for almost two weeks now today he wants the remainder of his draw or he is going to file a lien.
You may have a breach of contract here by the contractor. A breach of contract occurs when a party fails to uphold one of their contractual obligations they were required to do (or not to do something) and failed to do so. When a contract has been breached, some type of damages may be necessary, and a lawsuit might end up taking place. The contractor's failure to finish the work specified in your construction contract may be recognized as a breach of your agreement. If the failure to finish the work is considered a breach the non-breaching party who has been injured may be entitled to certain legal remedies. To determine if you have a breach of contract claim here that you may bring, you first need to check your construction contract. To recover under breach of contract, typically that means filing a lawsuit and will likely need to contact a North Carolina construction attorney.
In addition, if a lien is filed against you that is invalid or improper there are a few steps you may pursue including:
1. Immediately dispute the lien
2. Force the claimant to file suit to enforce the lien in a shorter period (if available in your state)
3. Just wait it out
Good luck!