in California, can my company file a surety bond claim after the public works entity has filed a notice of completion with the county recorder?
2 replies
Mar 23, 2021
Possibly. If you are in direct contract with the general contractor on a public works project, you can make a claim and file a lawsuit even if a notice of completion has been recorded. Although there is more time to file a lawsuit, you should act on your payment bond claim immediately by consulting with a lawyer to determine the deadlines.
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Helpful
Mar 25, 2021
You should file a claim with the bonding company as soon as you’ve finished your work and the money is owed. You can do it in a letter form that gives the relevant details and the bond number. The bonding company will send you back a Proof of Claim form to fill out and return to them along with your documents that back up your claim. Make sure that you served your preliminary notice. If you didn’t, you can file a written notice to the bonding company and bond principal within 15 days after recording of a notice of completion, or within 75 days after completion of the project if no notice of completion was recorded. You must file suit to enforce a payment bond claim within 7 months (actually 6 months + 30 days) after the recording date of the notice of completion. I’m happy to answer any questions you have about this.
Cathleen M. Curl, Esq.
Law Office of Cathleen M. Curl
700 El Camino Real, Suite 200
Millbrae, CA 94030
T 650-871-5955
F 650-588-7101