WHAT CONSTITUTES LAST WORK
WHAT COUNTS AS “LAST WORK” FOR TIMELY RECORDING YOUR LIEN? By: Michael E. Stearns, Esq., Stearns, Roberts & Guttentag, LLC Most lienors know that they must record their construction lien within ninety days of their “last work.” But just what constitutes “last work” for the purposes of a construction lien? Perhaps the most common question […]
DO YOU HAVE A LIEN CLAIM BOND CLAIM OR BOTH
By Douglas J. Roberts, Esq. Contractors working on construction projects must be proactive to protect their rights from the very beginning of the project. While a general contractor, subcontractor or material supplier will typically have a claim for breach of contract against their customer, the Construction Lien Law, Chapter 713, et seq., provides additional rights […]
WHAT CAN I INCLUDE IN MY LIEN?
By: Michael E. Stearns, Esq., Stearns, Roberts & Guttentag, LLC A question often asked by lienors is “What can I include in my lien?” The answer is fairly straight forward and is found in Florida’s Construction Lien Law. A lienor can include, “any money that is owed to him or her for labor services, materials, […]
EQUITY, LIENS AND LEASEHOLD INTERESTS
By: Michael E. Stearns, Esq. Construction liens are creatures of statute. That is to say, they were created through enactment of legislation. There is no such thing as a common law construction lien. A construction lien has traditionally be excellent security for payment for work performed. This has been true, in part, because a construction […]
NON-CONTRACTING SPOUSE’S INTEREST IN REAL PROPERTY IS SUBJECT TO LIENS
By: Richard E. Guttentag, Esq., Stearns, Roberts & Guttentag, LLC Pursuant to Florida’s Construction Lien Law, when a contract for improving real property is made with a husband or wife (but not both) who is not separated and living apart from his or her spouse, and the property is owned by the other or by […]
DETERMINING PREVAILING PARTY ATTORNEYS’ FEES IN LIEN ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
By: Richard E. Guttentag, Esq., Stearns, Roberts & Guttentag, L.L.C. “In any action brought to enforce a lien . . . the prevailing party is entitled to recover a reasonable fee for the services of her or his attorney for trial and appeal or for arbitration . . . .” Florida Statute, Section 713.29. Although […]
CONTRACTOR IS NOT REQUIRED TO SERVE NOTICE TO OWNER ON SUBSEQUENT OWNER AFFILIATED WITH PRIOR OWNER
By: Richard E. Guttentag, Esq., Stearns, Roberts & Guttentag, LLC A lienor, except a laborer, who does not have a direct contract with the owner of real property to furnish improvements, is required to serve a Notice to Owner in order to have a valid construction lien. A lienor who does have a direct contract […]
OWNER FAILS TO ESTABLISH CLAIM FOR FRAUDULENT LIEN
By: Richard E. Guttentag, Esq., Stearns, Roberts & Guttentag, LLC Florida law defines a fraudulent lien as “[a]ny lien . . . in which the lienor has willfully exaggerated the amount for which such lien is claimed or in which the lienor has willfully included a claim for work not performed upon or materials not […]
DEVELOPER CANNOT USE SHELL COMPANIES TO PURCHASE MORTGAGE BACK FROM BANK AND THEN FORECLOSE THE MORTGAGE TO DISCHARGE CONTRACTOR’S LIEN
By: Richard E. Guttentag, Esq., Stearns, Roberts & Guttentag, LLC A contractor is not permitted to borrow money from a bank, give the bank a mortgage, contract for the improvement of the property, purchase the mortgage back from the bank, and then foreclose the mortgage for the purpose of extinguishing construction liens that increased the […]