I'm a subcontractor in AZ whose vendor is refusing to sign a lien waiver because a Preliminary 20-Day Notice has not been filed on the job. Our customer is refusing to release payment without the waiver. Is our vendor obliged to provide a waiver regardless of not filing a Prelim?
Did your attorney draft your contract to require the vendor to execute lien waivers regardless of lien rights? If work is still being done, you can file a preliminary notice now. If a claimant fails to send preliminary notice within 20 days of first contribution or furnishing labor, the notice may be provided later than the 20-day deadline, but this will only secure rights for the amount of the labor or materials provided in the 20 days before the service of the preliminary notice and any time thereafter ARS 33-992.01(E).
If your company does not have a construction lawyer to draft your agreements and avoid mistakes like this, you should consider hiring one soon.