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Can my contractor actually file a mechanic's lien against my property when they damaged my floors and owe me money?

I've already paid them 90% of what is owed, very early and then immediately when invoiced. The remaining is only because they did not include an additional invoice at the time. Now, they damaged my floors and are reimbursing me, but they will not give me the check until I've paid them...and today they threatened to file a mechanic's lien. This does not seem right given what has transpired. I have all emails to prove and show their negligence, but I do not know legally what rights I have.

1 reply

Nov 16, 2017

This is an interesting (albeit, unfortunate) situation, and one that's more common than you'd think. A contractor's lien rights exist irrespective of an outside dispute over different funds, such as this dispute over the damage to the floors. If the contractor has billed you for work, and has gone unpaid, the contractor will have lien rights on the property (provided that the contractor has also complied with relevant requirements to filing a lien). While the contractor may owe you funds for the damaged floors, ultimately that payment dispute will not automatically affect their lien rights. Thus, the contractor will not be prevented from filing a valid lien though some other dispute (here, the damaged floors) exists. Also, note that regardless of the validity of the contractor's lien, the contractor will likely be able to have a lien filed on the property. However, the penalty for filing an improper or fraudulent lien can be steep.

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