Hired Contractor to paint our house. We agreed upon a rate of $160 per day and he said it will take him 2 weeks to complete. After a week we noticed he was going very slow and taking his time. He said he will need another 3 weeks to complete everything(4 weeks total when we agreed upon 2) we said this is unacceptable as you originally promised 2 weeks. We then agreed on a fixed amount instead of the original 160 per day. After completion he took the money and left. We just got a mechanics Leon notice from him months later saying we owe him more money as he is trying to charge us for 160 per day for the 4 weeks. We never agreed upon this. We never signed any documents either discussing this. Our agreement was 100% verbal. Does his claim Have any merit? We will be forced to pay the amount he’s trying to get from us?
You state that a painter agreed to take a flat fee, finished the job, then filed a Mechanics Lien. You ask if the claim "has any merit" and if you must pay the claim.
Under Illinois law, anyone who improves real property (by labor, materials, etc.) is entitled to full payment for the improvement. If not paid, the claimant has an automatic lien claim. Filing a "Notice of Mechanics Lien" simply makes the claim public (all those seeing the title to your property will know it).
However, a Mechanics Lien is a sworn document, and must arise from a genuine agreement (known as a "meeting of the minds"). It need not be a written contract, but the parties must have agreed on what was to be done and for how much. Based on your description, there was a meeting of the minds but the claimant rejected it.
You could therefore claim that this Mechanics Lien is for more than is owed, and since it must be signed by the claimant, represents a false oath. Your options:
I hope this information was helpful. There is actually more to this, but the best way to defend yourself is to work with an experienced Construction Lawyer. Best of luck!