Posts Tagged ‘Lien Law Summaries’

Full Text of Nationwide Little Miller Acts Now Available on Zlien.com

When performing work on a state or federal project anywhere in the United States, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers cannot turn to the state’s generic mechanic lien laws to understand the applicable notice and lien requirements. Following those regular laws could do absolutely no good.

Instead, potential claimants must understand a completely different set of statutory requirements. If on a federal project, they will look to the “Miller Act.”  If on a state project, they will look to a “Little Miller Act.”

As a resource, Zlien has published a compilation of Little Miller Acts across the nation. The compilation is very easy to navigate, and once viewing a particular state, you are provided a table of contents for that state’s laws and the full text of the statute.

View it Here:  http://www.zlien.com/miller-acts/

What Is A Little Miller Act?

On state and federal projects across the entire United States, prime contractors are required to post bonds guarantying the performance of their contractual duties and/or the payment of their subcontractors and materials suppliers. If unpaid on these projects, the supplier or subcontractor can file a “lien” or “bond claim” against the bond. On federal projects, these bond requirements and claims are governed by the federal Miller Act. Each state has a “Little Miller Act,” which is a state statute based on the federal Miller Act.

Filing A Claim On A State or Federal Project

Now that you have easy access to the statutes, you may still be wondering just how you go about filing a claim against a federal or state project.  As we’ve explained in previous posts, the claim experience is quite different than on a private project.  Instead of actually liening the property, the claimant is making a claim against a project’s bond.

Here are some posts that explain these differences:

- Got A Public Project? Be Sure To Preserve Your Rights To Payment

- Is My Project Private, Federal, State…Or Something Different?

- The Difference Between Public and Private Projects

And remember that Zlien files bond claims on federal and state projects across the United States. For one low flat fee, you provide simple project information and we do all the leg work.  Click here to go through our Wizard and order now.

Posted in:     Miller Act Claims, State Bond Claims, Web Updates  /  Tags: , , , ,   /   Leave a comment

What Happens After You File A Mechanics Lien

So, you fulfilled all of your notice requirements and you filed your mechanics lien on time.  The other party still hasn’t made payment, and you begin to wonder…now what?

Why Mechanics Liens Work

First, before discussing what happens after the lien is filed, let me first address why mechanics liens are effective ways to collect on non-paying projects.

This is an important point when discussing what happens after a mechanics lien is filed because it touches on why mechanics liens sometimes prompt payment without any further action after the filing itself.

Mechanics Liens are effective for the following reasons:

- Without a mechanics lien, you can only sue the party you contracted with.  With a lien, you can sue the property owner, those up the contracting chain from you, and the surety bonding the project.

- A mechanics lien can prevent a property from being sold, transferred or refinanced

- Without a mechanics lien, you have no security when you file suit on your breach of contract claim.  With a lien, your claim has the property has security.

This is a perfect storm of aggravation to the project and the parties working on the project, that frequently results in getting you paid without any action beyond filing the lien.   See how it worked on the MGM Project in Vegas here.

What Happens Next?

But what happens if your mechanics lien does not produce immediate payment?  See article on this topic here.

Most states require the lien be “enforced” or “foreclosed.”   This typically means that you bring a lawsuit against the person you contracted with and/or the other relevant parties (property owner, prime contractor, surety, etc.).    In most circumstances, the lien stays on the books while your action is pending, and if you win…you have the security of the property to ensure you get paid.

What Happens After You File A Mechanics LienIt is very important to recognize that you only have so long to enforce or foreclose on your lien.   If you fail to do this within the specified time frame…your mechanics lien will expire completely.

The time you have to enforce or foreclose on a mechanics lien varies depending on the state where the project is located.   We have Construction Lien Law Summaries, and specifically the time period to enforce mechanics liens from each state, available on our State-By-State Lien Law Summaries and Forms Page.

And don’t forget about Zlien’s Lien Pilot, which calculates your project’s deadlines for you (including your deadline to foreclose / enforce a mechanics lien).

What Happens When My Lien Expires?

Well, this is a pretty sensitive subject.   You can always bring your lawsuit against the party in your contract (if you are within the statute of limitations for your state).

But with respect to the mechanic lien’s viability, Kelly Davis has a great article published on her blog on this issue:   Didn’t Foreclose on your Mechanics Lien?  What Should You Do Now?

Posted in:     Mechanic Liens, The Legal Corner  /  Tags: , , , , ,   /   1 Comment

Mechanic’s Lien Solution

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