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Do they have lien rights?

We as the prime contractor, filed the Notice of Commencement of the commercial project we were hired for. We have a sub of a sub (they provided temp labor) that feels they have lien rights. We have not received a notice of furnishing from them and from what I read, they would be required to file a Notice to Contractor (they are not directly contracted with us) 30 days of the NOC filing or 30 days of first providing, of which, this time has passed. Please advise.

1 reply

Dec 30, 2019

In the state of Georgia, if a Notice of Commencement has been properly filed on a construction project in Georgia, anyone who didn't contract directly with the general (prime) contractor or the property owner must send a Notice to Contractor in order to secure their mechanics lien rights. Failure to provide the notice within the statutory deadlines will result in the loss of the right to file a lien on the project. This rule can be found in GA Code § 44-14-361.5(a); "any person having a right to a lien who does not have privity of contract with the contractor and is providing labor, services, or materials for the improvement of property shall, within 30 days from filing the Notice of Commencement or 30 days following the first delivery of labor, services, or materials to the property, whichever is later, give a written Notice to Contractor." The only way such a party would still retain their right to file a mechanics lien is if the Notice of Commencement contained some "fatal defect" such as providing the wrong legal property description or listing the wrong property owner. Otherwise, if a Notice to Contractor isn't sent within the required timeframe, the party will not be able to file a valid mechanics lien. If you have any further questions, you can head over to our Georgia Construction Payment Resources Page.

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