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Arkansas
My company installed 10k worth of equipment for a customer. He paid the equipment fees up front with intent to pay labor once job was completed. Finished work May of 2022. Cx was on honeymoon and was supposed to make contact with ke after they returned. Cx total labor invoice with discounts was $3300+. When he made contact with me after 3 weeks, he informed me he has had other contractors come and inspect my work to which they gave a much lower price. Now customer doesn't want to pay for my services or finishing materials on-site and installed. He did pay $200 to which I told him I would take it off the total he owes. So current balance is $3100+.
Arkansas did work at motel cerimic tiles .and removal of tolets and sinks with some minor frame alterations. and the manager wont pay up nor pay for the material out of my own pocket. .in arkansasa
ArkansasI was going to go into business with a contractor to build spec houses. I own the land. He was to do the work and we were to split profits after all expenses 50/50. I funded most aspects of the endeavor; materials, payroll, equipment rental, cash expenditures for materials and equipment. The contractor redirected many of these funds to the construction of his personal residence. His residence is now on the market and I want to attack a lien to recuperate my funds. He actually owes me approximately $235,000. His unfinished home and 15 acres are on the market for $225,000. I would like to lien for the max amount with funds available to pay the brokers/agents and whatever costs are require to pay out escrow. I have receipts for materials, equipment rental but I made payroll ($20K) in cash at his request. We have no formal agreements in writing. He misrepresented himself in multiple ways, I discovered his is a felon on parole, convicted of bank robbery, he as no contractors license, bonding or insurance. The ONLY way I have of regaining my losses are through this method. I will ultimately be filing criminal charges but I want to see if I can get some of my money back first. I sent out a LOI to lien 8.14.22 by e-mail, not exactly sure of the date he received the letter. To add further to the confusion, in order to cover himself, he has put his personal residence in his wife's name. I'm not sure if there is any other avenue to pursue funds. I'm fairly certain he has no money. He has recently been arrested and incarcerated for violation of parole (he pulled a gun and threatened to kill someone). Yep, my mother always told me I know how to pick 'em!
ArkansasWe are a seasoned subcontractor but have never experienced a GC refusing to pay. It appears our luck has run out. Having never been in this situation before, please provide some guidance on the negatives of moving forward with a lien/notice of lien. We want to understand the full implications of what to expect.
ArkansasI hired a subcontractor to work for me as an employee. They worked on 5 projects. We never had an agreement on work or price of any projects. The intention was to bring them in as a full partner and absorb the assets of their business as their equity injection. They backed out, now he wants to try to go back and bill me as a subcontractor for work performed while he was a salaried employee and is contacting customers and threatening them with liens.
He did complete 1 project after his employment ended, which I paid all the costs for except for his personal labor. There was no contract and no agreed upon price. Now he has created an invoice for the work done after his employment ended and also including work done while he was employed. He does not have a written contract with me or the homeowner. I have paid out over $16k already and he put concrete for a driveway he poured for the homeowner (went around me) on my concrete account ($5k worth of concrete billed to me for a project that was not mine).
I agree I still owe him about $1k (after the 5k I paid on my account for his project is accounted for). Is he in a position to file a lien for anything more than the $1k I agree I owe him (he would be getting paid about $6k for less than a weeks worth of work, for his own individual labor as I paid everyone else directly or have already paid him for the workers he used on the project and paid directly). Can he file a lien for work he completed as an employee and was paid salary for?
ArkansasI own the painting company (Imperial Painting). We are doing a commercial job. It's a weather forecast station (exterior). I hired a sub contractor to do the job. He was supposed to pressure wash, Scrape all loose paint, and paint. Well he told me he didn't pressure wash and there's old lifting paint all over the building. There's also concrete blocks that had been falling apart, that had a loose layer of paint holding back the loose block material. Instead of scraping it off he painted over it. I'm told him today he's responsible to fix the mistakes and he said no he's not going to fix it. I haven't paid him anything yet. I told him I'll pay him In full when the job is completed and the customer is happy. He said no. He said he's going to place a lien on the property. If he's in the wrong how do I protect me and my customer? I have video and pictures of everything the day me and the sub walked around the job.
ArkansasGC is not responsive about our payments at a little rock job since November no issues with our paperwork on texture we show PM-Hold. the money that is owed is $138,753.18 this does not include retention or COs, which now they are trying to back charge us on the Co's adding non-contract items, and with things that needed to be fixed, we never got a 48h notice.
ArkansasHi. To make long story short, the house we are in, we had verbal agreement with owner we were supposed to be buying the house. The house needed repairs and improvements which we have done. the repair and improvement cost was supposed to be used for our down payment. We have put alot of money and labor into this house. Now we just found out he has put it up for sale for double what he was going to sell to us for. can we file a lien for the repairs and improvements we have made. is there anything we can do, We are current on our rent,
I'm furious he is doing this after we just put all this money into it.
Arkansashttps://app.levelset.com/payment_help/question/pueden-asesorarme-que-hacer-para-poder-lograr-que-el-contratista-me-pague-lo-que-me-debe-por-el-trabajo-realizado
ArkansasI'm working on a job I got fired on but the payment are suppose to be paid upon each line item that has been completed I was fired but now they do not want to pay
ArkansasHola tengo un caso de construccion soy un subcontratista y el contratista antes de terminar el trabajo me despidió sin pagarme el dinero por el trabajo realizado hasta esa fecha, el motivo por el cual me despidió fue precisamente para no pagarme lo que me adeuda por el trabajo realizada, de igual forma se apropio de mi herramienta y desde entonces no me contesta el teléfono me bloqueo cualquiere tipo de contacto con el y no he podido contactarlo porque se me esconde, aparte de eso utilizo lenguaje racial, homofobico y discriminatorio para referirse a mi persona. Me gustaría saber si pueden ayudarme o asesorarme sobre que es lo que tengo q hacer para lograr que me pague mi dinero
ArkansasMy LLC provided a construction dumpster rental for a residential cleanup on a house that had burned down. We have not received payment for the final invoice and have attempt contact and collection more than four times now. The invoice is currently 30 days past due. Does this situation qualify us to file a lien?
ArkansasI paint for myself and have no employees, do I need a license to be able to continue? I have an exempt for workman’s comp.
ArkansasMr. Tootill:
I reviewed your attachment to your email below just now. Ferguson’s lien is invalid because it does not strictly comply with Ark. Code Ann. Section 18-44-101 et. seq. As I’m sure you know, it is very difficult to comply with all of Arkansas’ lien requirements and the slightest misstep invalidates the entire lien. Ferguson’s purported lien has a number of fatal flaws as follows:
1. The October 8 lien notice identifies “Ferguson Enterprises, Inc.” and “Ferguson Enterprises, LLC” as the entity/entities that supplied the materials in question but the “Lienor” on the actual purported lien is “Ferguson Waterworks”. Thus the lien claimant did not give the notice required by ACA 18-44-115.
2. The lien must be filed by the lien claimant. See ACA 18-44-117(a). Ferguson’s was filed by some sort of “disclosed and limited agent”. At a minimum that invalidates the lien and it also likely subjects “Levelset” to liability for the unauthorized practice of law.
3. The second pages of the purported lien references “the above-identified HIRING PARTY” but that party is not identified “above” or anywhere else within the lien.
4. ACA 18-44-117(a)(2)(A) requires the lien account to be “verified by affidavit” (by the lien claimant). Ferguson’s purported lien doesn’t contain an affidavit. Instead it contains a short “Signature of Claimant, and Verification” section, which was not completed by a Ferguson representative and instead by someone else, who did not swear that the facts were true. The wording clearly indicates that his purported verification, which is also referred to as a “certification”, is made “upon my information and belief that the foregoing is true and correct,” and “I believe them to be true”, but nowhere does it say that he has knowledge of the facts and circumstances that gave rise to the lien and that they are true and correct. Instead he only claims to “thereby have knowledge of the facts” because he read “the foregoing Notice of Claim of Lien” which he himself created. That’s circular reasoning. In short, Ferguson cannot seriously contend that its purported lien was “verified by affidavit”.
5. In addition, and as an entirely separate fatal matter, the “Signature of Claimant and Verification” section does not contain any language swearing that the legal description is correct, as required by ACA 18-44-117(a)(2)(A).
6. Although it may or may not invalidate the lien claim, I note that the fifth page of the purported lien document contains a check from Jim Butler Construction Co., Inc., made payable to “Bryan Hodge exc & Ferguson”.
7. Perhaps the most glaring deficiency is that ACA 18-44-117(a)(1)(B) requires that the “just and true account” (the lien) contain “an affidavit of notice attached to the lien account”. Ferguson’s purported lien does not contain anything that could be interpreted as an affidavit of notice. No affidavit at all.
8. ACA 18-44-117(a)(3) requires that the (missing) affidavit of notice contain there things: (i) “a sworn statement evidencing compliance with the notice provisions of 18-44-114 – 18-44-116”; (ii) “a copy of each applicable notice given …”; and (iii) “a copy of the proof of service required under 18-44-114”. Pages 6 – 11, which are the only pages that could possibly apply here, don’t comply with any of those three requirements. Although pages 8 and 9 do say “I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct,” there is no verification, jurat, or other notary section anywhere. Sworn statements have to be made before a notary to be effective. See Rasmussen vs. C. J. Horner Co., Inc., 255 Ark. 1030, 505 S.W.2d 225 (1974) “The lien account is neither verified by the clerk nor does the evidence show that any oath was given. Without question, under our cases, one or the other was essential … To make a valid oath or affirmation there must be some overt act which shows that there was an intention to take an oath or affirmation on the one hand and an intention to administer it on the other; for even though such intention actually did exist, if it was not manifested by an unambiguous act, perjury could not be based thereon. If the attention of the person making the affidavit is called to the fact that it must be sworn to, and, in recognition of this, he is asked to do some corporal act, and he does it, the instrument constitutes a statement under oath, irrespective of any other formalities.”
Also, Exhibit 3 is unsigned, not notarized, and is only one notice. It indicates that it was sent by certified mail (and gives the certified mail numbers), yet “the proof of service required under 18-44-114” is nowhere to be found.
9. Finally, the actual “NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER” language is what is commonly referred to as the “commercial language”, which only applies under ACA 18-44-115 to “nonresidential real estate” and “residential real estate containing five (5) or more units”. I think everyone would agree that the property in question is residential real estate but it does not contain “five or more units”.
10. Many, many Arkansas cases recite something along the lines of the following, which is from Books-A-Million, Inc. v. Arkansas Painting Specialties Co., 340 Ark. 467, 10 S.W.3d 857 (2000):
The crucial issue before us is the construction to be given Arkansas lien statutes.
In particular, whether the notice provisions of Ark.Code Ann. § 18–44–115 are to be strictly construed, thus requiring strict compliance, or whether they can be satisfied by substantial compliance. We hold that strict compliance is necessary. Any statute in derogation of the common law will be strictly construed. Although the General Assembly has the power to alter the common law, a legislative act will not be construed as overruling a principle of common law unless it is made plain by the act that such a change in the established law is intended. Hartford Ins. Co. v. Mullinax, 336 Ark. 335, 984 S.W.2d 812 (1999). It has long been held that mechanic's liens are in derogation of the common law. The materialmen's lien and the construction money mortgage lien are in derogation of common law. Both are creatures of the legislature. The legislature is presumed to know the decisions of the supreme court, and it will not be presumed in construing a statute that the legislature intended to require the court to pass again upon a subject where its intent is not expressed in unmistakable language. Rhodes v. Cannon, 112 Ark. 6, 164 S.W. 752 (1914); Spickes Bros. Paint. Cont. v. Worthen Bank & Trust Co., 299 Ark. 79, 771 S.W.2d 258 (1989). In Valley Metal **860 Works, Inc. v. A.O. Smith–Inland, 264 Ark. 341, 572 S.W.2d 138 (1978), we stated, “Our lien statutes are in derogation of the common law and we construe them strictly since they provide an extraordinary remedy that is not available to every merchant or worker.” See also, Christy v. Nabholz Supply Co., 261 Ark. 127, 546 S.W.2d 425 (1977); Dews v. Halliburton Industries, Inc., 288 Ark. 532, 708 S.W.2d 67(1986); National Lumber Co. v. Advance Development Corp., 293 Ark. 1, 732 S.W.2d 840 (1987); Gray v. Nations, 1 Ark. 557 (1839). … The notice provisions contained in these statutes must be complied with strictly.
11. If this lien is litigated, the loser pays the winner’s attorneys’ fees and costs under ACA 18-44-128. Ferguson’s purported lien is a cloud on my client’s title and is causing damage. Ferguson has through the end of this month to execute and property record a lien release. Attached is one that will work. I’ve been instructed to file suit in the first week of January to declare Ferguson’s lien to be improper and invalid if the release is not filed by then.
ArkansasI had a 30 year asphalt shingle roof installed 12 years ago for around $8,000. I had several people inspect it and was told approx. 80% of the roof now contains defective shingles. The roofing company wants to pay me ~ $1,100 for compensation. Not acceptable. Can you help?
Arkansas