Despite unfairness, blanket liens are invalid, New York Real Estate Journal, author Andrew Richards, Esq., June 28, 2022
Mechanic’s liens serve as security for those who perform work, labor and services, or furnish materials and equipment for the construction of a project. In the event of non-payment by the property owner or the general contractor, the general contractor or subcontractor (collectively, “contractor”), as the case may be, has the right to file a mechanic’s lien against the real property upon which the work was performed. By filing the mechanic’s lien, the contractor is giving notice that it has a claim against the property for non-payment for work performed. In the event the contractor proves that it is owed money for the work performed, the contractor may start proceedings to have the property sold to satisfy the claim.
With that said, there are many requirements for the filing and service of the mechanic’s lien. If the lienor (i.e., the person filing the mechanic’s lien) does not properly list all of the information in the lien as required by the Lien Law or fails to file or serve the lien in compliance with the Lien Law, the lien will be held invalid by a court of law. For example, for a lien to be valid, the name of the owner and the tax identification (i.e., the block and lot) must be listed correctly on the lien. In many situations, the cancellation of a lien due to a filing irregularity results in the loss of the contractor’s security despite the liberal requirements of the Lien Law and the fact that the filing irregularity does not appear to prejudice the property owner.
One mistake that is commonly made by lienors is that they… see full article Article by KD Law, Andrew Richards
Andrew Richards is a co-managing partner – Long Island office, chairman of construction practice group at Kaufman Dolowich & Vo-luck, LLP, Woodbury, N.Y. Reprinted with permission.
Read more at the full article.
