Legal Question in Construction Law in Florida

If our company was forced to take a lower amount for payment on a job with no contract, by the owner, (by forced, I mean take this lower amount or we won't pay at all) and we begrudgingly signed a final lien waiver - but never signed the Satisfaction of Lien (we had actually put a lien on the property when they weren't paying us) - can we hold out on signing the Satisfaction of Lien until they pay the difference of what they owed and what they actually paid? They are wanting to forclose on the building, but can't without our signature on this Satisfaction of Lien. The reason they paid us less was due to the painter not painting a certain way over our texture, and this was proven by two separate third party mediators (a Sherwin Williams paint specialist and a Wall Board Mfg. representative. We did what we were hired to do, and they stalled for 4 months to pay us anything, and then told us if we'd sign a waiver, they'd pay us approximately 2/3 of what they owed us.


Asked on 3/18/11, 10:43 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Alterraon Phillips APLaw, LLC

Once you signed the final lien waiver (I presume it stated you have been paid in full), that is all they need to file with county records to show your lien has been satisfied. Not sure who wants to foreclose on the building but if it is someone with a higher lien position than you, they don't need your lien release. By them being in a higher position than you, and if a foreclosure sale occurs at the end of the foreclosure process, the proceeds are then paid out based on the order of the highest tier to the lowest and if nothing is left, your lien is just extinguished.

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Answered on 3/24/11, 8:37 pm


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