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Lien Deadline Confusion

New JerseyLien Deadlines

Hi, I filed a Notice of Intent to Lien on 11/24/2021 for a residential project. I understood that I didn't have to send a notice for residential, but I did it anyway. However, it didn't work to get us paid. Now I want to continue with the rest of the Lien process. Residential Arbitration Demand is next, but it has been more than ten days since we filed the Notice of Intent. Since I didn't have to file the notice of intent (I might be mistaken, but info online is confusing about this), I am confused if I can continue with the Residential Arbitration Demand at this point, or is it too late? Many thanks for considering my request, Milco

2 replies

Dec 20, 2021
From your inquiry, it appears that you are currently navigating your way through the New Jersey Construction Lien Law - for the first time and without legal counsel. Simply put, it is a dicey process and strict compliance is a must. It's not practical, here, for us to lay out all the twists and turns. But - I would direct you to this article by a firm in the State, which provides a good review. You'll see there the indication that law does indeed require a Notice of Unpaid Balance for the residential lien arbitration process. You'll also see that if your contract (and you must have a written contract) has an arbitration clause, then you can act to enforce that agreement independent of the Construction Lien Law process - though you won't achieve getting a lien. Here you go - for slow, careful reading: https://foxrothschild.gjassets.com/content/uploads/2015/05/mccloskey_lormannutsbolts_071305.pdf
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Dec 29, 2021
For residential liens, a notice of intent to file a lien is required. It is not required for commercial liens. Unfortunately, you may be out of time to proceed on the residential lien since you did not demand arbitration in the 10 day period. With that said, you can still bring a lawsuit for breach of contract and any other applicable causes of action even if you may no longer have lien rights.
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