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If other liens are filed on a property prior to mine, will those liens be paid prior to mine? In Georgia

GeorgiaMechanics Lien

I'm a small subcontractor who performed work on a large project and have not been paid. The contractor provided a check for payment but it was returned non sufficient funds. There are several larger liens filed against the property and I'm wondering the chances of mine getting paid

1 reply

Mar 11, 2020

When multiple mechanics liens are filed on a Georgia construction project, those lien claims will all be deemed to have "attached" at the same time (as long as they were properly filed before the deadline) under § 44-14-361.1 of the Georgia mechanics lien statute. Meaning, all mechanics liens on the given project should have the same priority - so filing a mechanics lien a little while after another mechanics lien claim is filed on the job shouldn't matter. If things deteriorate and there isn't enough money to go around, generally, mechanics lien claimants should end up being paid on a pro-rata basis. However, regarding other encumbrances - Georgia follows what's called the "first to file" or "first in time, first in sight" rule. So, a non-mechanics lien filing on the same job - like a mortgage, construction loan, etc. - will take priority over a mechanics lien claim if it was filed before the project. Mechanics lien priority can be a confusing topic, and it's an important one too. For more background information on mechanics lien priority: Lien Priority – What Happens When Everybody Is Trying to Grab a Piece from the Same Pie?

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