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Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>I have been a lawn maintenance company for Orlando Regional medical center in Kissimmee fl.' They refuse to pay me over $30,000.00, I keep g

I have been a lawn maintenance company for Orlando Regional medical center in Kissimmee fl.' They refuse to pay me over $30,000.00, I keep g

Florida

I have been a lawn maintenance company for Orlando Regional medical center in Kissimmee fl.' They refuse to pay me over $30,000.00, I keep getting the run around, but no money. Can i file a lien or NTO. Thanks Rich

2 replies

Aug 21, 2019
For Florida mechanics lien rights to arise, the claimant must generally provide a permanent improvement to the project property. Nothing is truly "permanent", but still - for lien rights to arise, there must be some lasting improvement to the underlying property. And, work that is regularly required - like maintenance work - will generally not give rise to lien rights. Levelset discusses that idea in detail here: Can Landscapers File A Mechanics Lien? That being said, Florida does provide mechanics lien rights for some landscaping functions. Specifically, lien rights may be available for those who "...perform any labor or services or furnish any materials in grading, seeding, sodding, or planting for landscaping purposes, including the furnishing of trees, shrubs, bushes, or plants that are planted on the real property..." Regarding a Notice to Owner - that document is merely a preliminary notice in Florida. Rather than create any lien right, when a Notice to Owner is properly sent, a Florida claimant who is already entitled to lien rights (as a result of the work they're performing) will be able to preserve their right to later file a mechanics lien, if one becomes necessary. As such, sending a Notice to Owner, in and of itself, will not create any payment claim. With that being said, note that there are always options outside of the mechanics lien process that could be helpful for payment recovery. You can learn about those options, here: Can’t File a Lien? Here Are Some Other Options For Recovery. Of course, keep in mind that in order to effectively threaten to file a mechanics lien (as discussed in the Notice of Intent to Lien section of that article), a claimant would likely need to have the right to file one in the first place. For more background on Florida Notices to Owner and mechanics lien rights, here are some helpful resources: (1) About Florida's Notice to Owner (NTO) (2) Florida Mechanics Lien Guide and FAQs
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Mar 5, 2020

I wanted to follow-up and confirm you’ve been paid on this project matter.

If I can further assist your company with any unpaid invoices, please feel free to call or email. My firm can collect for you even when lien rights have expired or were never pursued.

Mike Ross Miller, Ross & Goldman mross@mrgpartners.com (512)275-6412 Direct https://www.mrgpartners.com/levelset
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