Menu
Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>I paid my prime contractor in full and just realized that he did not pay the subcontractors. Am I responsible

I paid my prime contractor in full and just realized that he did not pay the subcontractors. Am I responsible

New JerseyRight to Lien

If I paid my prime contractor and he did not pay the sub contractors for the work that was done can the subcontractors come after me to recoup their money

9 replies

Aug 23, 2020
If you paid your prime contractor in full then you should be protected. An owner never has to pay twice for the same work. It is possible that the subcontractors could file liens against the property. If it is a commercial project they have 90 days to do this from their last day of work, and a shorter deadline if it is a residential project. You should make sure you have all paperwork to prove that you paid your prime contractor in full. As long as the prime contractor was paid in full before any liens are filed by the subcontractors, they should not have lien rights. The subcontractors may attempt to file liens but you will have a strong defense to knock them out as long as your prime contractor was paid in full before those filings.
0 people found this helpful
Helpful
Aug 23, 2020
If you paid your prime contractor in full then you should be protected. An owner never has to pay twice for the same work. It is possible that the subcontractors could file liens against the property. If it is a commercial project they have 90 days to do this from their last day of work, and a shorter deadline if it is a residential project. You should make sure you have all paperwork to prove that you paid your prime contractor in full. As long as the prime contractor was paid in full before any liens are filed by the subcontractors, they should not have lien rights. The subcontractors may attempt to file liens but you will have a strong defense to knock them out as long as your prime contractor was paid in full before those filings.
0 people found this helpful
Helpful
Aug 23, 2020
If you paid your prime contractor in full then you should be protected. An owner never has to pay twice for the same work. It is possible that the subcontractors could file liens against the property. If it is a commercial project they have 90 days to do this from their last day of work, and a shorter deadline if it is a residential project. You should make sure you have all paperwork to prove that you paid your prime contractor in full. As long as the prime contractor was paid in full before any liens are filed by the subcontractors, they should not have lien rights. The subcontractors may attempt to file liens but you will have a strong defense to knock them out as long as your prime contractor was paid in full before those filings.
0 people found this helpful
Helpful
Aug 23, 2020
If you paid your prime contractor in full then you should be protected. An owner never has to pay twice for the same work. It is possible that the subcontractors could file liens against the property. If it is a commercial project they have 90 days to do this from their last day of work, and a shorter deadline if it is a residential project. You should make sure you have all paperwork to prove that you paid your prime contractor in full. As long as the prime contractor was paid in full before any liens are filed by the subcontractors, they should not have lien rights. The subcontractors may attempt to file liens but you will have a strong defense to knock them out as long as your prime contractor was paid in full before those filings.
0 people found this helpful
Helpful
Aug 23, 2020
If you paid your prime contractor in full then you should be protected. An owner never has to pay twice for the same work. It is possible that the subcontractors could file liens against the property. If it is a commercial project they have 90 days to do this from their last day of work, and a shorter deadline if it is a residential project. You should make sure you have all paperwork to prove that you paid your prime contractor in full. As long as the prime contractor was paid in full before any liens are filed by the subcontractors, they should not have lien rights. The subcontractors may attempt to file liens but you will have a strong defense to knock them out as long as your prime contractor was paid in full before those filings.
0 people found this helpful
Helpful
Aug 23, 2020
If you paid your prime contractor in full then you should be protected. An owner never has to pay twice for the same work. It is possible that the subcontractors could file liens against the property. If it is a commercial project they have 90 days to do this from their last day of work, and a shorter deadline if it is a residential project. You should make sure you have all paperwork to prove that you paid your prime contractor in full. As long as the prime contractor was paid in full before any liens are filed by the subcontractors, they should not have lien rights. The subcontractors may attempt to file liens but you will have a strong defense to knock them out as long as your prime contractor was paid in full before those filings.
0 people found this helpful
Helpful
Aug 23, 2020
If you paid your prime contractor in full then you should be protected. An owner never has to pay twice for the same work. It is possible that the subcontractors could file liens against the property. If it is a commercial project they have 90 days to do this from their last day of work, and a shorter deadline if it is a residential project. You should make sure you have all paperwork to prove that you paid your prime contractor in full. As long as the prime contractor was paid in full before any liens are filed by the subcontractors, they should not have lien rights. The subcontractors may attempt to file liens but you will have a strong defense to knock them out as long as your prime contractor was paid in full before those filings.
0 people found this helpful
Helpful
Aug 23, 2020
If you paid your prime contractor in full then you should be protected. An owner never has to pay twice for the same work. It is possible that the subcontractors could file liens against the property. If it is a commercial project they have 90 days to do this from their last day of work, and a shorter deadline if it is a residential project. You should make sure you have all paperwork to prove that you paid your prime contractor in full. As long as the prime contractor was paid in full before any liens are filed by the subcontractors, they should not have lien rights. The subcontractors may attempt to file liens but you will have a strong defense to knock them out as long as your prime contractor was paid in full before those filings.
0 people found this helpful
Helpful
Aug 23, 2020

The short (but frustrating) answer is that it depends. As a general premise, NJ Courts tend to disfavor an owner paying twice for the same improvment to his or her property. However, paying your prime contractor in full will not always protect you. See AEG Holdings LLC v. Tri-Gems Builders, Inc. , 347 N.J. Super. 511 (wherein the owner who paid his prime contractor ahead of actual progress on the project was found to be liable to a subcontractor when the prime contractor declared bankruptcy).

How did you find out about the unpaid subs? Is the construction complete? I would caution you to be very careful about making any payments to any party with whom you did not directly contract. If liens are being filed by the subcontractors, you should probably review the matter with a NJ attorney who understands construction law.

0 people found this helpful
Helpful
Related Topics