I am a small contractor who works with a company out of California who is prolonging payment for several payments some paid partial some well o overdue.
1 reply
Feb 18, 2020
The rules and timeline related to filing a mechanics lien depend on the state in which the project was located / work was performed.
In Texas, a lien must generally be filed by the 15th day of the 4th month after the last month in which they furnished labor or materials to the project. However, for residential projects, the deadline is shortened to the 15th Day of 3rd month from last furnishing. So, in the probably unlikely event that the claimant has been providing labor or materials as part of the same project continuously since 2017, and the proper notice were sent regarding the months in which labor or material was furnished for which the claimant remains unpaid, a Texas contractor could conceivably file a valid and enforceable mechanics lien.
In California, the mechanics lien deadline is generally 90 days from the completion of the work as a whole. This has nothing to do with the date on which the claimant last furnished labor or materials, so it would only require that the project itself be ongoing since 2017. California also has preliminary notice requirements that must be met in order to claim a valid and enforceable mechanics lien.
While it is theoretically possible that an enforceable mechanics lien could be claimed for work done in 2017, it is very unlikely that all the prerequisites meet up for that result. It is likely the case that recovery would need to come from alternative means, like a lawsuit or other collections efforts.