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Can the owner force us to release lien if they paid contractor and we are not paid as a supplier?

I just have a general question about the mechanic's lien. We filed a lien on commercial property owned by a large national company. We are a supplier and our customer was paid in full but never paid us yet since he is having financial issues By the way all of this happened in South Carolina. We do know that by SC laws the owner is not obligated to pay twice for something they already paid a contractor for and I am wondering if they can force us in any way legally to release our mechanic's lien or can the lien stay on the property until we are paid in full? Our management doesn't want to release the lien until we are paid in full. I have a feeling that this will drag out and I am wondering legally what can be done or if we can be forced by their legal to release the lien. We never had this happen before. Please let me know.

1 reply

Apr 30, 2020

South Carolina is consited an "unpaid balance" state. That means an owner who's paid their GC in full won't be subject to mechanics liens from their GC's subs and suppliers. If a mechanics lien has already been filed - that doesn't automatically mean the lien won't lead to payment. No, it's possible that a mechanics lien could still lead to payment even if the lien isn't necessarily enforceable. Though, if the owner challenges the lien claim (like with a lawsuit), then the claimant could be forced to release their lien. Before a full-blown lawsuit breaks out, claimants will typically be able to release their claim, if they want to. Usually, an owner will want to avoid having to litigate over the claim - so they'll usually demand the lien be released before actually pursuing a suit to discharge the lien claim. Finally, this question sounds an awful lot like another recent question, which I think may have been double posted: How long can mechanic’s lien stay on property? Can the owner force us to release it?

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