Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>What do I need to do to collect on a surety bond filed to discharge a mechanic's lien?

What do I need to do to collect on a surety bond filed to discharge a mechanic's lien?

Zlien filed a lien on property in Queens Co. New York at 1870 Troutman St. The clerk recorded this lien on 3/19/18. On 3/29/18 we received paperwork for a surety bond to discharge the mechanic's lien. Is there something I need to file in order to collect the amount owed by the bond?

1 reply

Apr 6, 2018

That's a great question. In New York, when a bond has been posted to discharge mechanics liens (and potential liens) on a project, it appears that further action is required by the mechanics lien claimant. Under section 37(7) of the New York mechanics lien statute, a claimant must file Notice of Complaint with the clerk of the county where the bond is filed. The requirements for that Notice of Claim are set out by section 37(6), and are as follows: "(1) the name and residence of the claimant; and if the claimant is a partnership or a corporation, the business address of such firm, or corporation, the names of partners and principal place of business, and if a foreign corporation, its principal place of business within the state; (2) the names of the owner, contractor and surety named in the bond; (3) the name of the person by whom the claimant was employed or to whom he furnished or is to furnish materials; (4) the labor performed or materials furnished, including also materials actually manufactured for but not delivered to the real property, and the agreed price or value thereof; (5) the amount unpaid to the claimant for such labor or materials; (6) a description of the real property such as is required for a notice of lien. The notice of claim shall be verified by the claimant or his agent in the form required for the verification of notices in section nine of this chapter." This serves as a prerequisite to the filing of legal action to enforce the bond claim. If a claimant remains unpaid after filing their Notice of Claim, an enforcement action against the bond must be made in a similar fashion to a lien foreclosure action. That enforcement action would be brought in any court where an action might have been brought if such claim were a lien filed against such real property.

0 people found this helpful

Helpful