Hello, We are subcontractors, hired by General Contractor. The project was finished on January 16, 2020. Back in August, we started to chase GC for payment, knowing the 8-month rule. They have been sending some payments, and in a mid of Sept they promised to make a final payment in 3 weeks. The owner of the company accepted their word, however, they sent only 1/2 of the payment. Is there any possibility to file the lien based on the above circumstances?
I have the questions I review filtered to California only, and am confused by the "8-month rule" you mentioned. In California, lien claimants who are subcontractors have only 30 days to record a lien after the owner or prime contractor records a notice of completion; if no notice of completion is served, the subcontract still only has 90 days to record a lien.
It's also unclear from your question whether the entire project was finished in January, or just your scope. If the project continued after your scope, and was only completed within the past 90 days, you may still have lien rights. Here though, it appears that your lien rights have likely expired, however, you may still file a lawsuit for breach of contract against the prime contractor for up to four years after the payment was due. For this, I would recommend you retain a qualified construction attorney licensed in California.
Thank you for the response, apologies for the confusion.