Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>Will our bond claim remain?

Will our bond claim remain?

We recently filed a bond claim on a project we were working on in TX. We were offered a settlement to be paid out over four months. Will the bond claim hold while we receive these smaller payments? Foreclosure isn't due for about a year, but we want to make sure we're not jeopardizing the claim.

1 reply

Dec 16, 2019

Agreeing to a settlement and payment schedule won't make a payment claim disappear - but it can make things a little less clear-cut. Unfortunately, the Texas Little Miller Act doesn't provide any specific guidance or requirement for claims that have been partially paid. However, it may be a good idea to send updated claims to the surety which indicate that the amount of the claim is decreasing due to partial payment. Nothing in the Texas Little Miller Act prevents the use of updated and reduced claims. And, as long as the documents are correct at the time they're sent, seemingly, there'd be little issue with updating the amount being claimed against the bond as the amount drops. What's more, it may also be helpful to write additional protection into the terms of the settlement agreement. Bond claims are statutory in nature, but a claimant could certainly ask for more protection in the terms of the settlement, like the options discussed in this article: Don’t Want to File a Mechanics Lien? Here Are 5 Other Options. It's written from the perspective of potential lien claimants, but the information applies to bond claims just as well. And, with additional protection regarding payment, the security of having a bond claim may become less important. I hope this was helpful! For more information on Texas bond claims: Texas Bond Claim Guide and FAQs.

0 people found this helpful

Helpful