Granted, mechanics lien laws are complex. It’s still surprising to me how many folks out there think they know everything about the lien laws when they in fact know little to nothing at all.
This is a huge problem in the marketplace. Many companies rely on these misconceptions to their detriment, and wind up with defunct lien rights.
I encountered this when speaking with a client just this week. The client was negotiating with their customer to get paid before an upcoming lien deadline, and were being told that their calculation of the deadlines was incorrect. They were in Washington state on a county project, and our client contended the lien deadline as 30 days from project completion, but their customer contended they had 90 days from last furnishing.
[pullquote style="right" quote="dark"]Everyone has something to say about mechanics lien laws. The problem is, they are usually wrong.[/pullquote] Their customer was dead wrong. In Washington state, claimants have 30 days from project completion to file bond and lien claims (see Washington state project bond claim resources on Zlien.com). But the customer was very confident. After all, he had heard the lien laws before, and knew that it was 90 days.
The differences between state and private projects in lien law rules is an example of a very simple mechanics lien law nuance. Private projects have one set of rules, state projects have another. This causes confusion, but it doesn’t hold a candle to all of the nuances in the laws within each category.
At the end of the day, relying on rumors or what people in the industry say can be very dangerous. Rely on smart mechanics lien compliance systems like Zlien and never worry about your mechanics lien rights again.
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