Is My Project Private, Federal, State…Or Something Different?
On January 19, 2011
By Scott Wolfe Jr
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If you’re unpaid on a construction project and you want to file a lien, you have to figure out the project type to determine what type of lien is available to you. In most circumstances, there are three types of projects:
– Federal Projects: Construction work performed on federal property. Contractors and suppliers are unable to file a lien against the federal land. However, these parties can typically file a claim against the prime contractor’s bond under the federal Miller Act. We have written quite a bit about the Miller Act (category: Miller Act).
– State Projects: Construction work performed on state property. Just as contractors and suppliers cannot file a lien against property owned by the federal government, most states have restrictions against filing liens against state property as well. As such, claimants can typically file a claim against the prime contractor’s bond under the state “Little Miller Act.” We have written about these proceedings as well (category: State Bond Claims).
– Private Projects: Construction work performed on property owned by a private owner (remember, this may include work on a private university or on a public corporation’s property). Here, the contractor or supplier can file a traditional mechanic lien against the property itself.
– Something Different: So, it is possible that your project doesn’t fall into any of these categories? The answer, unfortunately, is yes. While there are a number of examples, I’ll direct you to a recent blog post by Vincent Pallaci on his New York Mechanic’s Lien blog: Caution! Working on a private project on publicly owned land may leave you without lien rights.
Vincent’s post gives one example of these “something different” types of projects. It relates to a private project on a state property in New York. While New York has lien laws for private projects on private land, and public projects on public land, there is a gap for private projects on public land.
When reviewing your lien rights, look at your project and determine what type of project it is. That’s the first step in determining whether you have the right to lien or file a bond claim…and then how to actually do it.
Related posts:
- The Difference Between Public and Private Projects
- Don’t Know Who Bonded A State Or Federal Project? Just Ask.
- Got a Public Contract?: Be Sure to Preserve Your Rights to Payment
- Your Mechanic Lien Was Bonded…Now What?
- Liens Make Your Payment Problem the Entire Project’s Biggest Problem
About the Author: Scott Wolfe Jr
Scott is the founder of Zlien, a nationwide mechanics lien and preliminary notice filing service. Zlien publishes the Construction Lien Blog, and has done so since 2007. Scott has been a leading contributor and author on the blog since it's initial publication. Scott is also the founder of Wolfe Law Group, a construction law firm that practices along the West Coast and in Louisiana. He lives in New Orleans, LA, where he was born and raised.
[...] Is My Project Private, Federal, State…Or Something Different? [...]
[...] this question a lot, which lead to us blogging on the subject earlier this year in a post titled: Is My Project Private, Federal, State…Or Something Different? It’s an important piece of information to know about your project since it will effect what [...]
[...] this question a lot, which lead to us blogging on the subject earlier this year in a post titled: Is My Project Private, Federal, State…Or Something Different? It’s an important piece of information to know about your project since it will effect what [...]
[...] When furnishing labor or materials to a federal construction project, your mechanics lien remedy is filing a Miller Act Claim. The claim’s description refers to the federal act that provides the authority for these claims: the US Miller Act, codified in United States Code 40 § 3131 et seq. (Read Full Text of the Miller Act). This is a guide explaining how the Miller Act works, and how to properly file a claim under the Miller Act. Don’t know if your project is a federal project, check out this article: Is My Project Private, Federal, State…or Something Else? [...]
[...] black hole of mechanics lien rights. We wrote about this issue in a blog post last year titled: Is My Project Private, Federal, State…Or Something Different? The concept being presented that sometimes a private company leases land from the state or [...]
[...] wrote about the issue in a post a few years back titled Is Your Project Private, State, Federal or Something Different? Impressively, Oklahoma just two weeks ago became the first state to address the issue head-on by [...]