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Cease and Desist notice

Scam company claiming a fraudulent agreement with my company. I have filed a police report against the representative that committed the offense, and his company is threatening to wreck my credit if I don't comply with their fraudulent contract. I need to document all of this and protect my credit against this malicious and underhanded advertising firm.

1 reply

Jul 24, 2019

I'm really sorry to hear that you're fighting off a questionable lien claim. Mechanics liens are a necessary tool in the construction industry, and it's unfortunate that some businesses use them inappropriately. When a fraudulent or frivolous mechanics lien has been filed, there are generally a few different ways to go about getting that lien claim removed. Let's explore some of those below.

Legal threats
When a lien has been improperly filed - like, potentially: for work not performed, for work unrelated to improving the property, or for an exaggerated amount - one option for getting that lien removed might be to threaten the lien claimant with potential legal action. Generally, when a lien is fraudulently or improperly filed, that might result in legal liability for the lien claimant. So, threatening to challenge a filed lien and noting that the claimant may be liable for damages, etc. might be a good step. When a demand to release a lien is sent via attorney letter, it tends to carry a little more weight.

Notice of Contest of Lien
Generally, a filed mechanics lien must be enforced within about a year. However, an owner or some other interested party can file a Notice of Contest of Lien in the superior court clerk's office to change that. By filing a Notice of Contest of Lien and sending notice to the lien claimant, the person filing the Notice of Contest will both challenge the filed lien and to shorten the claimant's time period for enforcing the lien to a mere 90 days from when the notice is filed. And, when a lien is filed on a questionable basis, the lien claimant might be disuaded from moving forward when a Notice of Contest has been filed.

Bonding off a lien
Further, when a lien has been filed, that lien can be discharged by filing a bond. Bonding off a lien doesn't make the claim disappear, of course - it just changes the recovery method some. Rather than the lien attaching to the project property, it will be transferred to the bond that's filed in its place. This can be expensive, and it's not a perfect solution. But, in a situation where a lien really must be removed from the property fast, bonding off a lien then fighting it on its merits might be a potential move.

I hope this information was helpful! Also, I'd like to add: In the off chance you were referring to a lien that a Levelset user has filed against your property, you can always email Levelset at fraud@levelset.com with your concerns and documentation showing the claim was fraudulently made by the user. We take allegations of users improperly using our software platform very seriously.

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