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Can you fight a lien for work that caused more damage to a homeowner?

I signed a contract for 1,300. With a brick contractor to tuck point 4 sides of brick rails on the front of my home. He covered the 100 year old face brick with excessive mortar destroying the face of my home. I stopped payment on his check. I have no confidence he can correct this without causing more damage, and prefer to secure another contractor. He threatened a lien on my home. What recourse do I have? To fix this job will require acid wash and more cost to me. Please advise.

1 reply

Jun 10, 2020

Homeowners are absolutely able to combat mechanics lien claims filed against their property. And, it's common for a key issue to be damage the claimant caused to the property or defective work performed by that claimant. Though, if you'll be claiming the contractor performed defective work, it'd be crucial to keep documentation about the work that was supposed to be done (via the contract, communications with the contractor, etc.) and to keep records of their work (photographs of the alleged defects, communications, etc.). With that being said, if a contractor has gone unpaid, they'll generally be entitled to file a lien claim even if their workmanship is in dispute. But, if their work is truly defective, it's possible that their claim could be tossed aside when challenged.

Terminating a contractor for defective work

If you're terminating your contractor for defective work, it's important to do things by the book. First, check the contract to determine how termination must be undertaken. Further, providing the contractor written notice of their termination and providing specific reasoning is a good idea - especially when you can point to specific contract terms they've breached. Even if you have a solid basis for the termination, if you fail to do things in accordance with the contract, you could create liability for yourself. What's more, it might also be worthwhile to offer the contractor an opportunity to fix their work at their own cost before opting to terminate. If they do accept, then there's no cost. If they don't accept, at least you can show you provided a good faith opportunity for them to fix the issue before terminating them.

Stopping a lien filing before it happens

It's hard to block a lien claim before it's even filed. But, threatening to file suit if a lien is filed can help to fend off a lien claim. Showing the claimant you won't roll over and that you'll fight their lien tooth and nail will be valuable. If there are obvious issues with their potential claim, you should be able to identify them and show that the lien would be improper. Upon that showing, a claimant will often be less likely to proceed with their lien since fraudulent or improper liens can lead to costly legal fees (or worse). Certainly, if it looks like your property may soon be liened, then consulting with an Illinois construction attorney will be useful. Adittionally, I think these two resources should be valuable: (1) I Just Received a Notice of Intent to Lien – What Should I Do Now? (2) A Mechanics Lien Was Filed on My Property – What Do I Do Now?

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