Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>If a NOC was filed and a lien was placed against the property can the homeowner then get a NOC for the same job and finish themselves???
If a NOC was filed and a lien was placed against the property can the homeowner then get a NOC for the same job and finish themselves???
We did original NOC and customer has not paid but then went and filed his own NOC to complete job himself. Is that legal?
1 reply
Sep 13, 2019
Nothing in Florida's mechanics lien statute prohibits an owner from filing their own Notice of Commencement - even where someone else has previously filed a Notice of Commencement on the project.
However, that doesn't mean an owner won't be liable to their contractor for failure to make payments. Even where an owner has tried to abandon working with their GC and decided to do their project themselves, that owner will still be liable for amounts owed but unpaid to their contractor.
What's more, when an owner has tried to abandon their contract with their contractor but has not taken the proper channels to do so/does so for improper reasoning, that owner might potentially be liable under a theory like breach of contract, as well.
Considering it sounds like the owner here has tried to terminate the agreement for work, here are some resources that might be valuable:
(1) Wrongful Termination | When is Termination Considered Wrongful?(2) Termination for Convenience | Can Your Customer Terminate You Without Good Reason?(3) Termination for Cause | When Can Construction Contracts Be Terminated for Cause?