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Is the General Contractor responsible to file the Release of Lien that was filed by a Subcontractor?

California

Anonymous General Contractor

We are a General Contractor and once Covid hit several of our clients stopped paying (they were large restaurant companies) and so several subcontractors filed liens. We've had several subcontractors tell us it's our responsibility to record the Release of Lien. Aren't the subcontractors responsible for releasing their own Release of Lien?

3 replies

David Ginn

Construction Lawyer

Attorney at GinnLaw, P.C.

| 86 reviews

Feb 12, 2021

Your contract with the Owner may require you to release liens of your subs, but as far as your subs are concerned, they need to release their own Release of Lien. They recorded the liens, so they are the only ones who can release them. If the liens are more that 90 days old and there has been no lawsuit filed, they can be sued for not taking their liens off the property.

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Anonymous General Contractor

Question Author

Feb 12, 2021

Thank you. That's what I needed to know. We have a few subcontractors who have sent us the original release of lien paperwork and told us to file for the recorded lien release because they don't want to pay for it.

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