Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>If I sell my custom built, designed-to-spec HVAC equipment to a sales rep that is sourcing building materials for a specialty mechanical subcontractor on a commercial project, in Louisiana do I have lien rights to protect my material delivery or is that considered supplying a supplier - which is not protected?
If I sell my custom built, designed-to-spec HVAC equipment to a sales rep that is sourcing building materials for a specialty mechanical subcontractor on a commercial project, in Louisiana do I have lien rights to protect my material delivery or is that considered supplying a supplier - which is not protected?
I need to know it my lien rights are protected under Louisiana law as a material supplier.
1 reply
Jan 26, 2018
Your question gives rise to a couple of points that must be considered when examining lien rights for suppliers in Louisiana: specifically, 1) lien rights as related to specially fabricated materials; and 2) lien rights as related to suppliers to suppliers.
Louisiana is not a state that contemplates "specially fabricated materials" as separate from other "movables." All material suppliers in Louisiana are classified as "sellers of movables" without regard to whether the movables were created specifically for the project at issue. However, since you noted the supplies were "custom built and "designed to spec" it may be something to consider if you supply in other states.
Suppliers to suppliers are not protected by mechanics lien rights in Louisiana - but the determination of whether a party is a supplier to a supplier is not always as clean and easy as one would hope, and there are multiple factors to consider. Depending on the relationship between the "sales rep" and the specialty sub - the rep may be the agent of the sub and not necessarily a third-party supplier. While it would be much more neat if the materials were sold directly to the sub - it's not completely clear whether the lien rights protection would or would not extend to those materials without more information.