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Can I charge interest on a lien?

TexasMechanics Lien

I filed a lien on a customer 9 years ago. I was contacted by that customer who said they wanted to pay the bill. Am I entitled to charge interest on the original amount? If so how much? I read an article from you once that said something like " don't get caught in the usury trap" I think that'a what it said. In order to get interest do I have to take them to court?

1 reply

Dec 10, 2019
Generally, the amounts allowed to be claimed on a lien are limited to the value of the work provided to the project that remains unpaid / the unpaid portion of the contract. Interest, attorneys' fees, and other amounts may sometimes be recovered, but those are awarded by the court in a foreclosure action, not claimed on the lien itself. In Texas, specifically, any amount unrelated to the value of the labor and/or materials furnished to the project may not be properly included in the lien claim itself. There are also some additional considerations, here. A Texas mechanics lien only remains enforceable for a certain amount of time. If a lien is not enforced within the required time, the lien expires and becomes unenforceable. For Texas projects, the time in which an action to enforce must be initiated depends on the type of project. For all non-residential property, an action to enforce the lien must be initiated by the later of either 1) 2 years after the last date on which the lien claimant could file his lien, or 2) 1 year after termination, completion, or abandonment or the project. For residential property, an action to enforce the lien must be initiated by the later of either 1) 1 year after the last date on which the lien claimant could file his lien, or 2) 1 year after termination, completion, or abandonment of the project. Since the lien in this situation was filed 9 years ago, it is unlikely to be enforceable through a foreclosure action in court, and accordingly, it is unlikely that interest, attorneys' fees, costs of recovery, or other amounts could be recovered pursuant to such an action. While that's a long time to wait for payment, it is pretty incredible that the lien claim is working to get you paid even 9 years later. In this case, it may be best to not poke too much, since the leverage created by the lien claim is likely gone.
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