Legal Question in Construction Law in Minnesota

We paid our contractor money to pay one of are sub contractors he took the check and never paid the sub now he wont contact us so we can't get the money back the sub contractor put a lien on our property so now we had to pay twice to get the lien removed so we could close on our property. The contractor is in hiding and wont call us we have put a lien on his property but that won't get us our money unless he needs to sell his building what legal avenue do we have to get him to pay


Asked on 8/27/10, 6:54 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Vincent W. King Vincent W. King, PA

I'm sorry for you, that really stinks. What the contractor did is literally a crime. Here is the applicable statute: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=514.02 (you may need to copy & paste this link into your browser). Take this information, along with the information regarding your payment to the contractor, to the local law enforcement folks and file a complaint. You can also file a complaint with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry: http://www.dli.mn.gov/main.asp

You will see that the lien statute also gives you a civil remedy against the contractor. If the dollar value is significant, and if you think the contractor can pay a judgment, then you may want to consider following the steps outlined in the statute. If the amount of the claim is $7500 or less, then after taking the steps required by the statute you can file the claim in conciliation court: http://www.mncourts.gov/selfhelp/?page=313 ...otherwise, you would need to hire a lawyer and go to district court.

Standard disclaimer: The comments above are based on limited facts and should not be considered legal advice. We do not have an attorney-client relationship. That said, good luck to you and let me know if I can be of further assistance.

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Answered on 9/01/10, 7:22 am


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