You have 90 days after recording the lien to file a lien foreclosure action. Record a lis pendens in connection with your lien foreclosure lawsuit. If you have the ability to serve a bonded stop payment notice, that could give you some additional remedies. You probably have rights under the terms of your contract to pursue in the same lawsuit. Filing a lawsuit can be expensive, so try to exhaust your efforts to get payment without filing suit if you can.
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Jun 3, 2020
If your business is a sole proprietorship, you can file your action to foreclose the lien in pro per (without an attorney). This would be the cheapest way to do it. But you will need to do lots of research to ensure that you do it right. And depending on your scope of work, you may be counter-sued for construction defects - which you also would need to defend. As noted above, the action will include a Complaint and a notice of lis pendens. You would also want to include other causes of action such as breach of contract.
If your business is an entity (i.e. a partnership or corporation) you must hire an attorney to file your action to foreclose. As noted above, this can be expensive and you should apply all the pressure you can to procure payment before the 90 day lien deadline expires. But if the lien is about to expire, you have no choice but to release the lien or to move forward with a foreclosure action. Whether or not it makes sense to do so depends on the amount of the lien, the specific facts of your case, and your tolerance for risk.
To schedule a free telephone consultation email me at ryan@huntortmann.com.