Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>I need to place a Lien for a job I did and haven't received payment , It was a Condo association doing the work and it had three different condo residents apartment that the work was done in, Do I need one Lien against the building or three against the three differnt owners

I need to place a Lien for a job I did and haven't received payment , It was a Condo association doing the work and it had three different condo residents apartment that the work was done in, Do I need one Lien against the building or three against the three differnt owners

LouisianaMechanics Lien

window manufacturer makes windows and doors, I supply and glaze all glass. other sub from window company installs frames and doors Condo President not happy with doors install, but has no problem with my work. She's made two payments saying my payment was in payment # 2 window company say no it should be in final payment which condo is holding out until they resolve dispute between them and window manufacturer , I don't think there going to fix because they said the condo's order new doors but not new door frames that why they don't have a good fit, I don't think the window manufacturer has much to loose because the owe me 2G, I don't know what they owe the installer but his payment is being held also, and the final balance is about 5G's. Work was also done in three different owners units do I have to file 3 Liens or just one against the condo, and can I send them another bill with the Lien fees. I have never sign any Lien release

1 reply

May 30, 2018

That's a really good question. Mechanics liens against condominiums and against multiple properties can get tricky. In Louisiana, a mechanics lien may be filed against an individual condominium just as against every other property, provided the lien claimant has valid mechanics lien rights. In Louisiana, parties entitled to mechanics lien protection include prime contractors, subcontractors, laborers or employees, material suppliers, among others. However, suppliers to suppliers are not entitled to mechanics lien rights in Louisiana. Naturally, though, the roles on construction projects aren't exactly rigid, and mechanics lien statutes tend to heir on the side of providing protection. So if there's an argument that a valid mechanics lien might be filed, such a filing would likely be recorded and would still stand a good chance to survive an enforcement action or a challenge to the lien. Keep in mind, though, that to file a mechanics lien for the sale of movables, a claimant must send extra notice prior to filing the lien - called a "Notice of Non-Payment" at least 10 days prior to filing a lien. When hired by the owner or prime contractor, this notice must be sent to the owner. When hired by a subcontractor or other party (who is not the owner or the prime contractor), notice must go to both the owner and the prime contractor. Regardless, it's probably a good idea to send to both parties anyway. This will not extend the deadline to file a lien. Regarding that deadline - if a Notice of Contract was properly and timely filed, all parties other than the general contractor must file their lien within 30 days after the filing of the notice of termination of the work. If a Notice of Contract was not properly or timely filed, all parties other than the general contractor must file their lien within 60 days after the filing of a notice of termination of the work, the substantial completion of the work, if no notice of termination is filed. If a Notice of Contract was not filed, a material supplier on a residential project must file their lien within 70 days after the filing of a notice of termination of the work, or after abandonment or substantial completion of the work if no notice of termination was filed. Regarding multiple properties - when multiple properties owned by different individuals will be liened, typically separate lien claims will be necessary. Note though that this is the case when the properties are truly separately owned - if the property where work was performed only belongs to one person/entity and the individual units aren't actually separately owned, one lien claim might be more appropriate.

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