Construction Law Blog

On July 1, most of the bills passed in the most recent General Assembly session will go into effect. This includes HB2409 which amends the statutory mechanic’s lien form. The General Assembly included this revision to address a conflict between the mechanic’s lien statutes and forms.

The following revision is now included on the form:

“2. Amount Claimed: $___________
IF ANY PART OF THE AMOUNT CLAIMED IS NOT DUE AS OF THE DATE OF THIS MECHANIC’S LIEN, IDENTIFY THE DATE OR EVENT UPON WHICH IT WILL BE DUE AND THE SUM(S) TO WHICH THE DUE DATE(S) OR EVENT(S) APPLY: _________________”

This means that going forward, lien claimants will now need to clarify in their liens the following:

• Claimants must identify the date(s) or event(s) from when interest is claimed and the sum to which interest is applied.
• If any part of the lien amount is not yet due, the claimant must identify the date or event upon which it will be due and the sum(s) to which the due date(s) or event(s) apply

These changes will most frequently require contractors to separately identify unpaid invoices from retainage. However there may be many other “events” that will trigger future payment obligations, such as later-approved change orders or pay-if-paid provisions.

As we’ve discussed before, precision is key in drafting mechanic’s liens. This new untested requirement relating to interest will require careful attention.