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requirements for filing against a bond

With Levelset already sending a claim against a bond with details including Parties involved, money still owed, and a notary from Levelset why am I being asked by the bond company to fill out "their" form? If Levelset isn't complete enough start to finish then it seems as though the value of your service seems diminished. Related to the same claim and yet slightly different we are owed retainage that no one has disputed but the bond company wants all invoices, certified payroll or other payroll and everything else. It feels very much like a stall tactic designed to waste our time.

1 reply

Jun 23, 2020

In my experience, this is very standard practice for surety companies. I can only recall two instances when I have witnessed a surety company paying a claim on a payment bond without first being sued. It is very common for a surety company to respond to claims by asking for additional information, telling you they are forwarding your information to their principal (usually the general contractor), and stating that they are not waiving any of their defenses, including the defense of the statute of limitations. Each time you send information to them, you are likely to receive a similar letter back in response. Unless the contractor authorizes the surety to pay (which is unlikely, as the contractor has to reimburse the surety for any payments made), you are not likely to get a voluntary payment from the surety. Instead, the surety will continue to wait until your statute of limitations expires. Your deadline for filing a lawsuit against the surety is one year from the date of your last work. You must be very careful not to let that date lapse. Utah’s statutes allow you to recover your attorneys’ fees from the surety company if you prevail, however, so that is good news.

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