Lien protection under attack! Subcontractors and suppliers fight back.(Lien Law Update)

Construction subcontractors and suppliers, beware! The Rhode Island Supreme Court is expected to hand down a decision in the next year that could set the legal stage for nullifying the existing liens of subcontractors and suppliers in 48 states. The American Subcontractors Association (ASA) and its chapter in the state, the Rhode Island Subcontractors Association (RISA), are urging the high court to uphold mechanic's lien laws and protect subcontractors' and suppliers interests in property they construct. improve, or supply in Rhode Island and other states.

"It is imperative that subcontractors and suppliers have the flail protection of lien laws." said ASA President Rick Wanner. executive vice president. Wanner Metal Worx Inc.. Delaware. Ohio. "Without the assurances that liens provide. subcontractors and suppliers would have less to protect them from unscrupulous customers that failed to pay them. Preserving mechanic's lien rights is a top priority of ASA."

The case, Gem Plumbing & Heating Co. vs. Rossi concerns a subcontractor that filed a lawsuit against a construction owner in Rhode Island to enforce a lien. The owner alleged that the lien filing process violated its "due process" protections under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article I. Section 2. of the Rhode Island Constitution. A lower court agreed with the construction owner. dismissing the subcontractor's case. ASA and RISA warned that, if the Rhode Island Supreme Court agrees with the lower court's ruling, mechanics' liens in the state and elsewhere across the country would face new legal challenges.

ASA and RISA submitted a "friend of the court" brief in the case on March 29, 2004, arguing that the filing of a lien notice expresses the subcontractors' economic ...