Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: General lien

You should make sure that you follow the agreement that you made with them. Do you have a written contract or order form or purchase order? Or, is the agreement an oral agreement? How much is owed from prior order(s)? How much is the current order?

I would need a few more details before giving any advice on this since the advice might cause you to take an action that might breach an agreement that you have.

You should have a consultation with an attorney to review your documentation and discuss options.

Caleb

Re: General lien

I agree with the previous answer, and would add the following:

In an ongoing business relationship, each contract should be viewed as a separate deal from a legal standpoint unless past practice and tradition tie them together with unwritten terms and implied understandings. For example, a quality dispute over Job A does not warrant the customer's refusal to pay for Job B, nor the supplier's holding Job C hostage for payment. It is OK to refuse to ship Job C if Job C hasn't been paid for, if prepayment is a contract term; you have a lien on it.

On the other hand, it makes sense for both parties to consider the overall business relationship in deciding how aggressive and hostile to behave. If this is a long-term and profitable relationship, try negotiation and discussion before anything more hostile such as withholding payment, failing to ship, filing a suit, etc.