Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>We took on a renovation project in the state of New York. The client is a property/construction management company out of California. The project was not itemized pricing just a whole number. After about 6 week the home was sold to another bank our investment company we come to find out. A couple week went by, when we where about 85% complete with the projects original whole price contract and a couple change orders. They ask use to stop work and wait to hear back from them to restart. We waited over 2 month after mutiple phone call untill they say that the new company was not going to move foward with the rest of the renovations. There is still a outstanding balance of almost half. We have started a lien on the project which is costing us $500 to do this. Where do we stnd with this are the responsible to pay every thing that is owed to us? there is about $15000 owed and do we have to adjust the thing off that we did not complete, even thow they ask us to leave the property and stop work?

We took on a renovation project in the state of New York. The client is a property/construction management company out of California. The project was not itemized pricing just a whole number. After about 6 week the home was sold to another bank our investment company we come to find out. A couple week went by, when we where about 85% complete with the projects original whole price contract and a couple change orders. They ask use to stop work and wait to hear back from them to restart. We waited over 2 month after mutiple phone call untill they say that the new company was not going to move foward with the rest of the renovations. There is still a outstanding balance of almost half. We have started a lien on the project which is costing us $500 to do this. Where do we stnd with this are the responsible to pay every thing that is owed to us? there is about $15000 owed and do we have to adjust the thing off that we did not complete, even thow they ask us to leave the property and stop work?

New YorkMechanics Lien

1 reply

Oct 22, 2018

I'm sorry to hear about that. Knowing exactly what amounts are subject to lien can be tough. As a general matter, mechanics liens secure payment for amounts due and owing for labor or materials that have been furnished for the improvement of real property. Thus, only work that has actually been performed will give rise to lien rights - so it's important for a claimant to exclude amounts that do not correspond to work that's already been performed. That may be tough when there's a lump sum contract, but making a good faith effort to properly break down amounts that are due for work performed is generally a good idea. Plus, New York, like other states, has rules against filing a lien for amounts no related to work performed and unpaid: New York Rules On What Is A Fictitious Lien. If a claimant has accidentally included amounts that shouldn't be included in their lien claim, New York is a state that specifically provides for the reduction of a lien claim. Under § 12-a of the New York lien statute, a lien claim may be reduced within 60 days of originally filing a mechanics lien - though prior notice may be necessary.

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