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General Contractor refuses to release my payment until i sign an unconditional waiver- before they will mail it to me

ArizonaLien WaiversPayment DisputesSlow Payment

I am a plumbing subcontractor working on a commercial job for a GC. The GC is refusing to mail my payment to me (which is already 30-60 days overdue) unless i sign an UNconditional waiver - or they refuse to mail my check. I tried to explain how the waivers (unconditional/conditional) work- but they are obviously do not understand the concept. They keep telling me they refuse because they can't leave themselves unprotected and it would be "bad business"- and that I am the "only sub on his jobs that seems to expect these 'special conditions'" and that I am "misconstruing the lien laws." We are only halfway through this pretty sizeable project-and I would rather file a prompt pay act violation than filing a lien-it's not the property owner- I know the owner has paid the GC- so I am not looking to make problems for the owner if not necessary.- but the pay apps were approved long ago and there are no issues with my workmanship- it is all the GC just not wanting to pay me. I am about to have a meeting with the GC and they have stated to me they REFUSE to release the money to me without that unconditional-so I just want to have my "ducks in a row" and say with utmost confidence that they are wrong- and it is breaking the law to hold my money for ransom for that waiver

1 reply

Oct 6, 2021
Look at A.R.S. § 33-1008, which is the statute the states verbatim what an unconditional waiver and release must say. In that statute, you will see that for the unconditional waiver to be valid, it must contain the following language: Notice: This document waives rights unconditionally and states that you have been paid for giving up those rights. This document is enforceable against you if you sign it, even if you have not been paid. If you have not been paid, use a conditional release form. So if the GC is using the correct for of unconditional waiver/release, then the release itself should say that you should not be giving an unconditional release before payment.
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