Legal Question in Construction Law in New York

Re: Construction, Release from Lien Form

You can put language in your original contract that states something to the effect that the contractor will not permit or suffer and subcontractor to place and lien.etc etc with other appropriate language to proect you.

Good Luck

RRG

Re: Construction, Release from Lien Form

If the contractor stiffs a sub, the sub can file a lien. Regardless of what language soever you may put in the prime contract. If the sub stiffs a sub-sub, the stiffee can file a lien. And so it goes. These lien rights cannot be waived except in connection with payment. So, what you can do (should do) is provide that the contractor's applications for payment have to be backed-up by lien waivers executed by the subcontractors whose work is included in the current application for payment. Note that I said before that the lien waiver is meaningless unless it is backed up by payment. There are provisions you can add regarding the lien waivers and sometimes the added language works and sometimes it does not. The cases are all over the lot. All that an Owner can do is to put on layers of language AND PROCEDURE that make it less and less likely that a lien will withstand a summary application to cancel based on the lien release. Many construction lawyers will take on this kind of matter on a limited (i.e., cheap) basis on the theory that they will be the "go to" person when the smelly stuff hits the fan, which it does so often. Others will hit you for a moderately stiff fee to advise on the project on a retainer basis. With an 18-month schedule, you probably need someone you trust -- not necessarily an attorney, a professional project manager will do if you don't want to pay the architect for this -- providing management services for the project. Or you can take your chances. The bottom line is that there is no magic bullet when it comes to New York Mechanic's Liens.