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Can we lien a job if the materials ship to an address other than the jobsite?

We are shipping product to our customer for a construction project in New York. The customer requests all materials be shipped to their New Jersey location for staging. If necessary, can we lien the jobsite in New York for materials not shipped directly to the jobsite?

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Nov 12, 2019

If materials are ordered for and actually used in the improvement of the project property, then the supplier of those materials will be entitled to a mechanics lien if they go unpaid - regardless of where the materials are shipped. Nothing in the New York mechanics lien statute mandates that only materials shipped directly to the project site will be lienable. And, when materials are actually used for the improvement of property, those materials will give rise to lien rights. But, as I'll discuss further below, delivery to the project site makes life easier for a material supplier if a lien claim does, eventually, become necessary.

Material delivery to the project site will make it easier to show that materials are lienable

It's important to be able to show that the materials giving rise to lien rights were used and incorporated at the project property. Delivering directly to the project site will usually help to create that distinction, as Levelset discusses in this article: Material Suppliers: Proving Incorporation When Filing A Mechanics Lien. If materials will be delivered somewhere other than the job site, it'd be important to be able to identify exactly where those materials will be used. Otherwise, if a lien claim became necessary later on, proving the validity lien claim could be more complex, and a material supplier may have to find some other way to show that their materials were used on the project. On that front - if materials will be sent directly to a customer rather than to the project site, it might be a good idea to clearly document where the materials will be used in communications or documentation shared between a supplier and their customer. Further, it would be wise to ensure that a customer holds and stages the materials separately from any general inventory or materials for another job. For more background on New York mechanics lien rights: New York Mechanics Lien Guide and FAQs.

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