Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Massachusetts

Re: Mechanics Lien

No. If the property was being sold at auction, you would be paid first. However, the Owner is settling with the electrician voluntarily. You can proceed to sue the Contractor/owner for money owed or foreclose the lien.

Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions.

Re: Mechanics Lien

No. It sounds like the contractor has a dispute about your work and the amounts you claim are due, and either does not have a similar dispute with the other sub, or has resolved it, and decided to pay an agreed amount to that sub in exchange for dissolving the lien.

You still have serious leverage -- assuming your lien was perfected properly and is still valid. If you have not already done so, you should notify the owner of the lien filing (I believe the ML statute requires this anyway). The owner will not want to close out the project with unpaid subs. Also, if the owner has notice of your lien as against the contractor, and pays the contractor the amounts due you anyway, you will have greater rights as against the owner than if it was unaware of the lien and then paid the contractor. Your lien is against the OWNER"s property, not against the sub itself.