I am a subcontractor who worked on a project doing some cleaning work for a general contractor that never paid me and they won't answer their phone or respond to any communication. I've filed liens and still no response. I'm looking to escalate the case now, am I able to file lawsuit even though I only have a signed work order from the site supervisor for the work we performed? Can I also include the owner of the property in that lawsuit as well since they did not respond to my requests for payment either?
Unless you gave preliminary notice to the owner within 20 days of commencing your work, you under most circumstances would do not have a valid lien claim against the owner. There may also be a question regarding whether or not your cleaning services improved the Property which is required for a valid lien. Most likely your best course of action is to proceed against the GC with legal action for breach of contract. Depending on the amount in dispute you can do this via small claims (if under $10K for individuals of $5K for an entity) or via a civil lawsuit.
Thank you. A 20 day prelim. was given and we have site photos of our cleaning results as well as a signed dailly punch list from the site superintendent of our completed work for the day. We do this at the end of each work day. All of this was presented to the GC upon billing them. I will persue the case further in small claims. Thanks again for your answer.