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Do I have a legal option to collect payment?

I'm a general contractor and I completed a tenant fit out in May. I filed a notice of intent to lien and the client told me they would pay me in full (and I have that in writing) the day before the lien rights were set to expire. They told me they mailed the check the day before. When I received the check the day after the rights expired it was $23K short of the actual amount owed to me.

1 reply

Sep 21, 2020

I am sorry for the issues you have been having. Fortunately, there are a few options you can explore to prompt payment. First, when it appears that a lien deadline may have passed by, you should determine whether the deadline has actually passed. Some mechanics lien deadlines are trickier to calculate than it seems they should be. If the deadline to file a mechanics lien has actually expired, one option to explore is to file a mechanics lien anyway. Keep in mind, it is never a good idea to file a lien that you know is invalid or improper, yet there is enough gray area around the calculation of lien deadlines that sometimes the question isn't cut and dry. Filing a lien may prompt payment by bringing the payment dispute to the attention of the parties, even if in the enforcement action the lien may not be effective. Again, note that knowingly filing a fraudulent lien can open up the claimant to potential civil or even criminal penalties. Here are a few potential steps in the absence of a mechanics lien right: Send the property owner a notice of intent to lien Send to collections File suit Litigation is normally a last resort. Yet, just because there is no mechanics lien right to enforce, that doesn't mean that there isn't a cause of action to pursue: Prompt pay statutes, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and more can all provide avenues to recovery. In addition, a Connecticut construction lawyer may be helpful to you in regards to next steps.

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