On this FL project, material may have first been provided in August. We, however, first billed in Nov and subsequently sent FL prelim notice within 45 days of the billing date. Are we protected with lien rights on this job? Also, the GC has not been paying our invoices promptly. We have 3 invoices from Nov & Dec that went unpaid and the end customer is now disputing the quality of the work. The GC is now withholding payment until we have completed the work to the end customer satisfaction. This dispute, however, just surfaced. Can we leverage the prompt payment laws to collect on the Nov invoices that have gone unpaid. The GC has been paid for that work and is withholding payment. Please provide more insight and advise some options available to us to collect while we are resolving the end customer quality dispute?
Florida Notice to Owner Requirements
The Florida Notice to Owner statutes are strictly enforced. The notice must be served before commencing, or not later than 45 days after commencing, to furnish his or her labor, services, or materials. For material suppliers the first furnishing date isn't always as clear, but there is some case law that suggests that for suppliers, this is the date that materials are delivered to the site. Given that your question refers to providing materials in August, and sent notice 45 days after billing in November, lien rights have not been properly secured; as late notice in Florida is fatal to lien rights.
Florida Prompt Payment laws
As far as leveraging prompt payment laws, this is definitely an option. Florida's prompt payment laws for private construction projects requires that subcontractors be paid within 30 days of the GC's receipt of payment, or 30 days after submission of an invoice; whichever is later. Also, note that these timeframes may be modified by the terms of the contract. There are some stutory reasons to withhold payments; specifically bona fide disputes regarding any portion of the contract price or material breaches of contract. If a party does decide to withold payments, they must provide notice of witholding within 14 days of receipt of the invoice detailing the reasons for withholding and the measures that must be taken to correct any deficiencies. If not, the payment is considered late, and the unpaid party will be entitled to interest.
In any sense, you can turn up the pressure by sending a prompt payment demand letter or a notice of intent to bring a prompt payment claim. If this still doesn't result in payment, then the next step may be to file an action (read: lawsuit) for claims under FL's prompt pay laws, and breach of contract against your customer/hiring party. Good luck!
Here are some resources that may prove useful: