A sub of ours was kicked off the project and he wants to be paid beyond what is owed because of the work he is no longer doing and is going to file a lien. Do I have any options to nullify that lean in short order?
1 reply
Dec 13, 2017
First, under §2B of the Massachusetts lien statute, a Notice of Termination is must be filed by an owner if a party has been terminated prior to the filing or recording of notice of substantial completion. Though this does not explicitly affect the amount available for a potential lien filing, the filing of such a notice can presumably serve as proof that a claimant's work ended prior to the completion of their contractual duties. Once the lien has been filed, the owner will be able to fight the validity of the lien for various reasons, including the amount of the lien. Notifying the potential claimant that penalties may come into play for a false or fraudulent lien may be a good step toward preventing a fraudulent claim, but disputes over the amount of the lien claim will have to come after the claim has been made.