Do punch list items constitute as last day on the job/ last furnishing date in NC?
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Dec 11, 2019
It can be difficult to determine the "last" day labor or materials are furnished to a project in order to determine the appropriate deadline for a mechanics lien filing, and this is especially true in North Carolina. North Carolina does not have a specific bright-line rule for determining the date on which the clock begins to run with respect to the calculation of the 120-day lien deadline. While a project can fall into a neat little box in which the contractor leaves and never comes back, most projects are not so clear cut. In order for work to count toward the date that labor or material was last furnished to the project, North Carolina courts have set forth a 4-factor test:
1. The labor or material furnished must be required by the contract;
2. The labor or material furnished must be furnished under one continuous contract;
3. The labor or materials furnished must be so furnished to perform the required obligations under the contract and not merely to extend the time in which a lien may be filed; and
4. The labor or materials must be furnished prior to the time period in which a lien may be filed elapsing originally.
If any of these factors are not met, the work does not count a day labor or materials were furnished for the purposes of extending a lien deadline. Additionally, while "warranty" work may meet the above requirements, it is generally distinguished form the work performed originally under the contract and does not extend lien filing deadlines.
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Dec 11, 2019
So... does a return visit for an item that was missed and owed to complete contract work, i.e. punch list item count as last day on the job?