National retail flooring is a national account that we sell material to. It looks like we may be a supplier of the material in this situation. Is a Prelim notice needed? I believe the material suppliers do not have lien rights and therefore a prelim is not necessary? Please advise further here. Thanks!
Material suppliers to contractors and subcontractors have lien rights in Florida, provided they timely serve Notices to Owner. However, your situation sounds like you are a supplier to a supplier, which likely means you would not have lien rights. You should consult with a lawyer as there may be more details to your situation that could impact this analysis.
This article is helpful on this topic:
https://www.levelset.com/blog/do-material-supplier-to-suppliers-have-lien-rights/#What_Is_a_%E2%80%9CSupplier_to_Suppliers%E2%80%9D
Your fact pattern does not provide enough information. Are you selling to this customer for their general inventory? Or are you selling for specific jobs? If selling for specific jobs, you probably have lien rights. It just depends how far down the line your customer is in the chain of contracts. If you are a material supplier to a sub-subcontractor, you have lien rights. If you sell to a sub-sub-subcontractor, howeve, you would not have lien rights.