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Followup question to "Subcontractor Lien Rights in Louisiana"

LouisianaLien DeadlinesNotice of CompletionNotice of Termination

I submitted a question on 7/2/18, and received a response from Matt Viator on 7/3/18 (both of which are copied below). My question has to do with the Notice of Termination. Our company never filed a Notice of Contract with the county recorder's office, so I understand that the subcontractor must file their lien within 60 days from the date our company filed a Notice of Termination. Our company issued a written Notice of Termination to the subcontractor on 5/17/18 but did not file a Notice of Termination with the county recorder's office until 7/2/18 (primarily because we did not know about the need to record such notices). I just want to make sure that the critical date for starting the 60-day lien filing period (for the subcontractor) is still 5/17/18. Please confirm, thank you. Subcontractor lien rights in Louisiana - submitted 7/2/18 Deadlines Right to Lien State: Louisiana Our company completed a private project in Louisiana as a general contractor on 6/26/18 (substantial completion). Our company hired a subcontractor to perform a specific scope of work as part of this project. We later had to terminate the services of the subcontractor due to multiple performance and schedule issues. The subcontractor abandoned the jobsite on 5/11/18, then we filed a Notice of Default with the subcontractor on 5/15/18, and finally filed a Notice of Termination with the subcontractor on 5/17/18. Our company then had to complete the specific scope of work of this subcontractor, and complete the overall project. My questions: 1. What lien rights does this subcontractor have against the owner property, and 2. What are the deadlines for the subcontractor to file a lien? Our company has filed a Notice of Completion with the local parish clerks office for the overall project based on completion date of 6/26/18 and a Notice of Termination with the local parish clerks office against the subcontractor in question for their specific scope of work based on termination date of 5/17/18. Answered 7/3/18 Matt Viator Legal Associate zlien Under § 4802 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, subcontractors are entitled to a mechanics lien "for the price of their work." Of course, when that workmanship is in dispute, there may be question as to whether they're still entitled to file a lien for their work performed. A subcontractor might be able to actually file a lien based on the price of their work. However, if that lien were challenged or if it came down to a lien enforcement action, a party who had to perform remedial work to cure issues caused by their sub might be able to argue that nothing is owed. If the subcontractor did not, in fact, add value to the work of improvement, it might be a valid basis for challenging the filed lien. Regarding deadlines - Louisiana's lien filing deadline can be tricky. If a Notice of Contract was filed, subcontractors must file their lien within 30 days of the filing of a Notice of Termination. If a Notice of Contract was not filed, a subcontractor must file their lien within 60 days of the filing of a Notice of Termination. In the instance where a Notice of Termination was not filed, that timeframe will instead run from the substantial completion of the work.

1 reply

Jul 6, 2018
I'm glad you've been sticking around! Under § 4822(C) of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, the deadline to file a mechanics lien will be 60 days after the later of "(1) The filing of a notice of termination of the work; or (2) The substantial completion or abandonment of the work, if a notice of termination is not filed." Based on the terminology of that section, the deadline would appear to be based on the date of filing rather than the date of sending the Notice of Termination. § 4831 provides further clarity on the matter. Under § 4831(A), "The filing of a notice of contract, notice of termination, statement of a claim or privilege, or notice of pendency of action required or permitted to be filed under the provisions of this Part is accomplished when it is filed for registry with the recorder of mortgages of the parish in which the work is to be performed." Thus, when a Notice of Termination is filed on one date and sent on another, the lien deadline will be based on the date the Notice of Termination is actually filed.
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