{"id":897326,"date":"2020-04-14T11:32:06","date_gmt":"2020-04-14T17:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=897326"},"modified":"2020-04-14T11:32:11","modified_gmt":"2020-04-14T17:32:11","slug":"keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep Your Construction Claims Alive in Crazy Economic Times"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Christopher G. Hill | <a href=\"https:\/\/constructionlawva.com\/keep-your-construction-claims-alive-in-crazy-economic-times\/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ConstructionLawMusings-RichmondVa+%28Construction+Law+Musings-+Richmond%2C+VA%29\">Construction Law Musings<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Coronavirus is dominating the news.\u00a0 Construction in Virginia is facing what is at best\u00a0an uncertain future\u00a0and at worst a series of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/moving-projects-forward-with-covid-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">large scale shutdowns due to COVID-19<\/a>.\u00a0 The number of cases seem to grow almost exponentially on a daily basis while states and the federal government try and patch together a solution.\u00a0 All of this adds up to the possibility that owners and other construction related businesses could shutter and importantly payment streams can slow or dry up.\u00a0 Aside from keeping your contractual terms in mind and\u00a0meeting the notice deadlines\u00a0found in your contract, these uncertain economic times require you to be aware of\u00a0the claims process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Along with whatever claims process is set out in the contract and your run of the mill breach of contract through non-payment type claims, in times like this\u00a0payment bond\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/dont-waive-too-much-mechanics-lien-waiver\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mechanic\u2019s lien\u00a0claims<\/a> are a key way to protect your payment interest.\u00a0 The law has differing requirements for each of these unique types of payment claims.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mechanic\u2019s liens are technical and statute based with very picky requirements.\u00a0 The form and content of a memorandum of lien will be strictly read and in most cases\u00a0form will trump substance.\u00a0 Further, among other requirements best discussed with a\u00a0Virginia construction lawyer, you must keep in mind\u00a0two numbers, 90 and 150.\u00a0 The 90 days is the amount of time that you have in which to record a lien.\u00a0 This deadline is generally calculated from the last\u00a0<em>date<\/em>\u00a0of work (or possibly the last day of the last month in which you did work).\u00a0 File after this deadline and your lien will be invalid because the right to record a lien has expired.\u00a0 The 150 days is a look back from the last day of work or the date of lien filing, whichever is sooner in time.\u00a0 The 150 days applies to the work that can be captured in the lien.\u00a0 In other words, it dictates the amount of the lien.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why are both of these numbers important, particularly during this pandemic?&nbsp; Take this example:&nbsp; A project is shut down for a certain period of time per the contract due to COVID-19.&nbsp; You perform work before the shutdown but did not complete your work and then 5 months later you begin working again at the job.&nbsp; In this circumstance, the 90 days did not begin to run until your last&nbsp;<em>post-shutdown<\/em>&nbsp;work is complete.&nbsp; However, for every day of the shutdown the 150 days is running to potentially deprive you of the ability to lien for&nbsp;<em>pre-shutdown<\/em>&nbsp;work.&nbsp; Failure to record a lien during the shutdown does not remove your absolute right to a lien, but does lower&nbsp;<em>the value of that lien<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Payment bond claims are either dictated by the terms of the bond itself (private project) or by the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/federal-miller-act-payment-bond-claim\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Miller Act<\/a> (federal)\u00a0or the\u00a0so-called \u201cLittle Miller Act\u201d (state)\u00a0depending on the ownership of the project.\u00a0 I\u2019ll concentrate on the last two because mechanic\u2019s liens are unavailable on projects owned by the state or Federal government.\u00a0 Among other requirements, for bond claims under either the state or federal act, notice is required within 90 days of the date of last work if you have no direct contractual relationship with the general contractor.\u00a0 Those with a direct contractual relationship do not have to provide notice though it is often best practice to do so for practical reasons.\u00a0 After 90 days from last date of work, the claimant then has a year from last work in which to file suit.\u00a0 This effectively creates a 9 month lawsuit window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why should you pay careful attention to these types of potential claims?\u00a0 One word: money.\u00a0 Either of these types of claims provide protection for the economic calamity that the party that should be paying you goes out of business.\u00a0 With certain caveats,\u00a0mechanic\u2019s liens survive bankruptcy\u00a0and put you in the position of a secured creditor in bankruptcy which gives you a much better chance at recovery than without the lien.\u00a0 Further, a payment bond is there for the exact situation where the principal on the bond or a party between you and that principal (usually a general contractor) goes under.\u00a0 A properly filed bond claim puts the credit of a large insurance company in place of that of the principal and will provide the money necessary for payment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, this post just scratches the surface of the complexity and power of these payment claims.&nbsp; Any lien or bond claim is very fact specific and requires the help of an experienced construction lawyer to navigate the various deadlines and requirements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Christopher G. Hill | Construction Law Musings Coronavirus is dominating the news.\u00a0 Construction in Virginia is facing what is at best\u00a0an uncertain future\u00a0and at worst a series of large scale shutdowns due to COVID-19.\u00a0 The number of cases seem to grow almost exponentially on a daily basis while states and the federal government try and&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Keep Your Construction Claims Alive in Crazy Economic Times<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11015,9],"tags":[9895,188,224,441],"class_list":["post-897326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-claims","category-construction-contracts","tag-advise-consult","tag-construction-claims","tag-construction-contract","tag-mechanics-liens","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Keep Your Construction Claims Alive in Crazy Economic Times - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"keeping your contractual terms in mind and meeting deadlines found in your contract, uncertain economic times require you to be aware of the claims process\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Keep Your Construction Claims Alive in Crazy Economic Times - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"keeping your contractual terms in mind and meeting deadlines found in your contract, uncertain economic times require you to be aware of the claims process\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-14T17:32:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-04-14T17:32:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@adviseconsult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@adviseconsult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\"},\"headline\":\"Keep Your Construction Claims Alive in Crazy Economic Times\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-14T17:32:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-04-14T17:32:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/\"},\"wordCount\":788,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Advise &amp; Consult\",\"Construction Claims\",\"Construction Contract\",\"Mechanics Liens\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Construction Claims\",\"Construction Contracts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/\",\"name\":\"Keep Your Construction Claims Alive in Crazy Economic Times - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-14T17:32:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-04-14T17:32:11+00:00\",\"description\":\"keeping your contractual terms in mind and meeting deadlines found in your contract, uncertain economic times require you to be aware of the claims process\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\",\"description\":\"Construction Expert Witnesses\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Advise & Consult\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png\",\"width\":162,\"height\":75,\"caption\":\"Advise & Consult\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/adviseconsult\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/204526\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MrConstructionExpert\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.expertwitnessinconstruction.com\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Keep Your Construction Claims Alive in Crazy Economic Times - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","description":"keeping your contractual terms in mind and meeting deadlines found in your contract, uncertain economic times require you to be aware of the claims process","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Keep Your Construction Claims Alive in Crazy Economic Times - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","og_description":"keeping your contractual terms in mind and meeting deadlines found in your contract, uncertain economic times require you to be aware of the claims process","og_url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/","og_site_name":"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","article_published_time":"2020-04-14T17:32:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-04-14T17:32:11+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@adviseconsult","twitter_site":"@adviseconsult","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7"},"headline":"Keep Your Construction Claims Alive in Crazy Economic Times","datePublished":"2020-04-14T17:32:06+00:00","dateModified":"2020-04-14T17:32:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/"},"wordCount":788,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Advise &amp; Consult","Construction Claims","Construction Contract","Mechanics Liens"],"articleSection":["Construction Claims","Construction Contracts"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/","name":"Keep Your Construction Claims Alive in Crazy Economic Times - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-04-14T17:32:06+00:00","dateModified":"2020-04-14T17:32:11+00:00","description":"keeping your contractual terms in mind and meeting deadlines found in your contract, uncertain economic times require you to be aware of the claims process","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/keep-construction-claims-alive-crazy-economic-times\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/","name":"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","description":"Construction Expert Witnesses","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Advise & Consult","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png","width":162,"height":75,"caption":"Advise & Consult"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","https:\/\/x.com\/adviseconsult","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/204526\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MrConstructionExpert"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.expertwitnessinconstruction.com"]}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2ztG6-3Lr0","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=897326"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":897327,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897326\/revisions\/897327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=897326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=897326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=897326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}