All about Georgia mechanics liens

On Behalf of | Oct 5, 2021 | Construction Litigation

If you’re a contractor or supplier, on-time payment for your work is important. A client not paying for a construction job in Evans, Georgia, allows the contractor to file a mechanics lien. To properly set up this legal tool, head to a general law firm to handle your construction litigation. A general law firm handles are construction litigation, family law, business litigation and medical malpractice.

Construction litigation

Construction litigation involves governmental, residential or commercial representatives in a project. Construction lawsuits can happen for various reasons, but the most common is negligence, professional negligence or breach of contract. If a person doesn’t pay the contractor for a project, that’s a breach of contract. Payment claims are very common in the construction industry.

Georgia construction litigation

There is a process that contractors and suppliers should follow regarding payment.

  • Preliminary notice
  • Slow pay?
  • Notice of intent to lien
  • No pay?
  • Mechanics lien

A primary contractor doesn’t need to give a preliminary notice before filing a mechanics lien in Georgia. Subcontractors and suppliers that file a Notice of Commencement with the prime contractor need to send a Notice to Contractor to the owner within 30 days of the goods delivery. Subcontractors should send all the preliminary notices to all parties for every project.

Georgia mechanics lien deadline

During construction litigation proceedings, a contractor or supplier has 90 days to file mechanics liens after not receiving payment. A contractor or supplier has 365 to initiate the enforcement of the lien from the filing date. Enforce it 30 days after commencing the action to enforce as well. In Georgia, there are no extensions for mechanics liens. If the time lapses on the litigation, the claim isn’t enforceable any longer.

Property owners, suppliers, contractors, vendors and lenders will deal with various lien-related paperwork in the construction industry. Finding a Georgia lawyer who specializes in business and construction litigation makes filing smoother. It’s important to understand the process of mechanics liens to file everything through the proper channels.