What do I do to get paid for this situation

Question

What do I do to get paid for this situation

5 months ago

I had built some handrail for a guy it took me three days to do I paid for all the material the consumables Paint & primer and I even delivered it to him he received the handrail then looked at me shook my hand and said I will have you paid tonight it was over a year ago that when it’s happened and I just now found out about the mechanics lien deal I just need to know what can be done if anything can be done thank you

Nate Budde · Answer 1 · 2019-07-28

First, I’m sorry to hear that you haven’t been paid for the work you’ve done. That’s very frustrating and unfair.

In Missouri, a mechanics lien must be filed within 6 months of the last work furnished to the project in order to be effective. If that deadline passes, no valid / enforceable mechanics lien may be filed.

If the deadline has passed, however, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there is no hope for recovery. There is the possibility of filing a lawsuit to recover what is owed – and, depending on the amount at issue, it may be that the claim could be filed in small claims court to avoid a lot of attorney fees, court costs, and wasted time.

If you need assistance in finding a construction attorney to talk to about your situation, you can find a list of top-rated lawyers here.

I’m sorry to hear about your situation, and I hope you are able to get paid. If you want to start implementing a process of providing notices and tracking potential deadlines to make sure you get paid, and get paid quickly, you can learn some more about potential solutions here.