It may seem like rare circumstances, but construction improvements for private enterprises upon public property is more common that you think. States, counties and cities frequently lease out public land to private companies to do a variety of things (airports, for example, lease to airlines and vendors). These private tenants hire companies to make tenant [...]
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Oklahoma’s Little Miller Act Now Applies To Private Construction on Public Land
Today, the Oklahoma governor signed Senate Bill 1053 (SB 1053) into law, which enacts a tiny change to Oklahoma’s Little Miller Act that can make a significant difference to the state’s bond claim laws. The change effectively makes the state’s Little Miller Act (governing bond claims against state projects) applicable to private construction projects whenever they [...]
A Guide To Louisiana Payment Bond Claims
The Construction Lien Blog welcomes Seth Smiley, who contributes this guest post about payment bond claims in Louisiana. Seth is a partner at Wolfe Law Group, and a contributor to that firm’s Construction Law Monitor blog. He frequently writes and litigates about construction law issues ranging from payment bond claims, workmanship disputes, construction delay matters [...]
Are Bond Claim Regulations The Same In Every State?
If you’re a reader of this blog, you can probably guess the answer to this question. If there is a single theme in the mechanics lien and bond claim world, it’s that there are so few rules that carry over and apply in every state. The same is true for state bond claim requirements. A [...]
What If State Law Conflicts With Provisions Of The Construction Bond?
We frequently discuss bond claims on this blog, as this is the mechanics lien remedy available to contractors and suppliers on state and federal projects. When working on a project owned by or controlled by the government, those unpaid for services rendered are able to file a claim against a payment bond, as opposed to [...]
How Lien and Bond Claims Against State Projects Work
If you’re unpaid on a private (commercial, industrial, residential) construction project, you have the right to file a mechanics lien against the property itself to collect the debt. When working on property owned by the state, this exact remedy isn’t available, mostly because the state government isn’t going to allow anyone to foreclose on its [...]
FAQ: Can I Lien a State Or Federal Project?
Short Answer: Yes. Although frequently called a “lien,” it is more accurately referred to as the filing of a claim. Long Answer: I’ve had a number of folks contact me in the past week or so inquiring as to whether they could file a lien against a federal or state project. While some companies have [...]
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 [...]
What If There Is No Bond On A State or Federal Project?
Last year, we posted about the differences between public and private projects, specifically discussing the impact on a construction party’s lien rights. The cliff notes to that post is this: when unpaid on a private project a party can file a lien, when unpaid on a state, county or federal project the party can only [...]
The Difference Between Public and Private Projects
When it comes to filing mechanics liens and collecting money owed to your company, there is a world of difference between private and public construction projects. And it’s very important to know the difference between the two. Why Does The Type of Construction Project Matter? Before explaining what distinguishes these projects from one another, [...]
Don’t Know Who Bonded A State Or Federal Project? Just Ask.
In nearly every circumstance, a general contractor on a federal or state project is required to maintain a bond for the work being performed. These bonds protect the payment rights of subcontractors, sub-subcontractors and suppliers. In the event any of these parties are not paid on the project, the unpaid party can typically file a [...]
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Scott Wolfe Jr., JD
CEO of Zlien, and a licensed attorney in six states, he's experienced in construction & corporate credit management laws....Read More
Nate Budde, JD
Zlien's Chief Legal Mind and licensed attorney. Nate is a Stanford & Tulane Grad, a Jeopardy! alumni and more....Read More
Seth Smiley, JD
Construction attorney in California & Louisiana, Seth is an experienced construction litigator and Zlien's COO....Read More
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