Having trouble filing a Massachusetts mechanics lien? Or maybe you just don’t know where to start? Let the “5 things to know” below help you get started and get paid! Participants Contributing to the Improvement of Property Have Massachusetts Mechanics Lien Rights Project participants that furnish labor and or materials to the construction, alteration, repair, [...]
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Can You File A Mechanics Lien For Snow Removal Work?
Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut and others in the Northeast were pummeled with the #Nemo storm and snow over the weekend. I can confirm the reports first hand as I’ve spent the last two day sin Cambridge, MA, where snow on the sidewalk is nearly taller than me. Everywhere I looked was construction machinery or machinery of some sort working [...]
Massachusetts Court Rules Subcontractors Cannot Waive Bond Claim Rights
Massachusetts’ statutes explicitly render void and unenforceable contractual clauses where a party waives its right to file a mechanics lien. ALM GL ch. 254, § 32. The state’s courts, however, were never called upon to decide whether the same is true respecting contractual clauses waiving a party’s right to file a bond claim against a [...]
Massachusetts Appeals Decision Means Subcontractors And Suppliers Should File Mechanics Liens Early
In most states, subcontractors or suppliers can file a mechanics lien at anytime before the statutory deadline and the lien will be completely effective for the full value of the claim. This is not the case in states like Massachusetts, where there is a “cram down” provision. As explained by DiNicola, Seligson & Upton LLC’s [...]
Special Mechanic Lien Rules for Specially Fabricated Materials
Time and time again on this blog, I’ve said that if there is one lien law rule consistent from state to state, it’s that in order to qualify for a mechanics lien claim, the materials or labor you furnish must actually be incorporated into the jobsite’s property (click here to see mentions of “incorporation” on [...]
New Massachusetts Mechanic Lien Law Takes Effect Today, July 1st
Earlier this year, we posted about a small change to the Massachusetts mechanic lien laws. The new law – Chapter 424 of the Acts of 2010 – explicitly provides design professionals mechanic lien rights in the state. From here on out, therefore, architects, engineers and other design professionals have the same mechanic lien rights as [...]
New Law Gives Architects and Engineers Mechanic Lien Rights in Massachusetts
Thanks to the attorneys at Seyfarth Shaw, LLP for calling our attention to a change in Massachusetts mechanic lien laws, set to take effect on July 1, 2011. Signed into law earlier this month by governor Deval Patrick, the new law grants architects, engineers and other design professionals the same mechanic lien rights that contractors, [...]
Mechanics Lien Basics
If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times: lien laws are a contractor or supplier’s secret weapon. The trouble is that utilizing the law can be complex and hyper-technical. There are a million materials out in the web-o-sphere to help those in the construction industry better understand the lien laws in their [...]
Great Information on Massachusetts Lien Laws at the Massachusetts Builders Blog
Massachusetts construction attorney Andrea Goldman operates a great blog for builders, contractors, subcontractors and other construction industry professionals in the state. You can also visit her law office online here. The Massachusetts Builders Blog has recently posted a string of blog articles about mechanic lien laws in the state – they are must-reads for anyone [...]
An Owner’s Perspective on Liens
We frequently post about construction liens from a contractor’s perspective – who are clearly interested in figuring out ways to qualify for the filing of a lien. What we rarely comment upon is an owner’s perspective, who are concerned with the opposite: figuring out ways to condemn a lien as improperly filed. It’s important for [...]
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