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Filing a Claim

My company supplied a job here in Texas with a bunch of materials. The job was bonded. They since went out of business. We need to file a claim. Never dealt with this before. We got an email from the contractor that Hanover was going to be taking over the Accounts Payable. We spoke with Hanover at that time, about month ago, and they said they would file a claim for us. We haven't heard from them. What do I need to do on my behalf? Should I be relying on Hanover to handle this process, or do I need to file a claim, on the behalf of my company? Thanks, Chris

1 reply

Aug 8, 2018

I'm really sorry to hear about that. While Hanover may have represented that they would handle the claim, it's a good idea for a claimant to remain vigilant in securing payment. That's not a knock against Hanover, to be sure. They certainly may be proceeding with the payment claims. However, surety companies are in the surety business, so naturally, their interests don't necessarily align all that well with a party who has a claim against them for payment. Thus, it's a good idea to remain in contact with a surety company to be sure that a payment claim has been entered and to ask them how to initiate a claim, if necessary. If this is a private project, the terms of the bond may dictate how claims may be made against the surety - and reaching out to the Surety can help clear things up, especially if a copy of the bond can be obtained. If this project is public, a claimant should proceed as required by the Texas Little Miller Act (and we have an article on making a payment bond claim on public projects: How to Make a Texas Payment Bond Claim). Ultimately, though, the bottom line is this: it's never a good idea to assume that another party will protect your interests. That may sound a little cynical, but a "tust, but verify" approach is typically the safer route.

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