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Worker threatening to file a lien after 2 years

Hi, I hired a worker in March 2018 and I always gave him money in advance, in May I gave an advance of 800 and he flew the next day. I hired another contractor to complete my project. Now after 2 years the old Worker is threatening me to pay more money else he will file a Lien. I know he can't file a lien because he the window was closed. Do I have to really pay attention to him or can I ignore. Thanks Akash .

1 reply

Apr 20, 2020

Missouri's mechanics lien deadline is generally 6 months after the last day that labor or materials to the construction project (except for material suppliers). Meaning, the timeframe for filing a mechanics lien has certainly come and gone if years have passed. Further, mechanics lien rights are only available to those who have performed work and not been paid for it - so if they took off with payment and didn't actually do the work, they won't be entitled to lien rights anyway. With that being said, even if a claimant isn't entitled to lien rights - they could still have their lien filed against the property and create headaches for an owner. County recorder offices generally don't have the bandwidth or the authority to investigate each claim that's filed. Though, an owner would absolutely be entitled to dispute the lien claim and could likely have that lien tossed aside (though, that could take legal action). If a claimant is threatening a fraudulent mechanics lien against your property, it might be useful to threaten legal action against them if they do proceed with a lien claim. If a would-be claimant knows that you understand your rights and that you're willing to make them pay for a fraudulent lien filing, they might be less inclined to try and file that lien. A demand letter sent via an attorney might also provide some extra "umph" on that front. This article should be helpful, too: I Just Received a Notice of Intent to Lien – What Should I Do Now?

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