Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>Am I too late for a prelim notice?

Am I too late for a prelim notice?

New JerseyPreliminary Notice Recovery Options

I am a sub of a sub on a municipal building in NJ that we have invoiced at 80% over 60 days ago. Our contract amount is $10,000.00. We have not sent a prelim notice. If I am understanding this correctly if we file a prelim now we can only really protect the 20% yet to complete. Is there nothing that can be done about the 80%?

1 reply

Jun 8, 2020

New Jersey subs on public projects must send preliminary notice in order to preserve their bond claim rights or their right to a claim on funds. For the bond claim, the preliminary notice should be sent prior to commencing work. For the claim on contract funds, it should be sent within 20 days after first furnishing - though late notice could cover the remainder of the project. So, by sending notice, you may be able to protect bond claim or claim on fund rights for any work that's not yet been performed. Certainly, though - bond claims and claims on funds are only two tools for forcing payment. For any amounts not protected by those rights, you could still absolutely force payment by options like sending invoice reminders, demand letters, or pursuing legal claims (like breach of contract or claims under the New Jersey prompt payment laws). For help assessing what legal claims will be available to you, one of these New Jersey construction lawyers should be able to help.

0 people found this helpful

Helpful