We had a fire. We hired a contractor to make repairs. When he was almost done, my mother passed away and we went into probate. I have had delays in getting the last payment to him because I have not received the Letters of Administration. The work ended November 1, 2019. The contractor later returned to the home to make repairs that were a result of bad plumbing, in March 2020. He filed a lien claim on the property in April of 2020. There was a cessation of labor from November 1 to March of 2020. I notified him that his lien was invalid and cited reasons why. He has now had his attorney file a Notice of Pendency of Action. The amount owed is roughly 30K for which I have a check that needs to be endorsed by the mortgage company. Can the contractor do this? Even if I can remedy the situation with a bond? Can this be expunged easily? Does the contractor truly have a claim on the real property and is he able to use this action simply because he's upset that the check is taking a long time to be endorsed and paid out?