Mining Lien Claim

“Mining liens” cover mines, quarries, oil, gas or other wells. Like mechanics’ liens, mining liens are a powerful tool for collecting money.

Persons entitled to lien

• Every person who works upon or furnishes material whether incorporated into the real property or not, under contract with the owner of any interest in real estate or with an agent, trustee or receiver of an owner.
  • “Material” includes casing, tanks, pipelines, fuel, machinery, equipment, appliances, buildings, structures, tools, bits or supplies. “Material” does not include drilling rigs or hoists or their integral component parts except wire lines.
• The claim amount must exceed $750.

Contact me for for help determining whether you are entitled to a lien.

Notice

• Every person performing any work or furnishing any material under contract whose demand to be reimbursed for the work done or material furnished has not been paid must serve the owner with an account of the amount and value of the work performed or the material furnished remaining unpaid. Thereafter the owner is required retain out of any subsequent payments to the contractor the value of the work performed or material furnished for the person making the claim.
  • When the notice is served on the owner, the owner must immediately furnish the contractor with a copy of the notice.
    • Within ten (10) days of receipt of the notice the contractor must give the owner affirmative written notice of:
      • its intent to dispute the claim; or
      • its intent the claim should be settled as filed.
        • If within ten (10) days after receiving notice the contractor takes no action the contractor is presumed to have agreed to the validity of the claim. The owner is then authorized to withhold enough of all subsequent payments to be made to the contractor to pay all claims as they come due.

Contact me for help with your Notice?

Lien Statement

• Contractors must file their Lien Statement within one hundred eighty (180) days of the earlier of:
  • the last day materials were delivered or work was performed under contract; or
  • from the date the work was substantially completed as determined by the facts in each case.
• Subcontractors and materialmen must file their Lien Statement within one hundred eighty (180) days of the earlier of:
  • the last day materials were delivered or work was performed under contract;
  • the date the work was substantially completed as determined by the facts in each case; or
  • the last day they performed work at the direction of the contractor.

Contact me for help with your Lien Statement.

Enforcement

• A foreclosure action (i.e., a lawsuit) must be commenced within one hundred eighty (180) days after your Lien Statement was filed.
  • If you fail to commence a foreclosure action in accordance with deadline set forth above, your Lien Statement will be invalid and unenforceable.

Contact me for help enforcing your lien rights.

Attorney Fees

• Attorney fees are awardable to the prevailing party. You’ll want to retain an experience construction lawyer to maximize your chances for prevailing. Contact me.

Other considerations and topics for discussion

Mining liens are a great tool for collecting money. But they are complex. I have provided you with the basic steps necessary to preserve your lien rights so that we can use a mechanic’s lien as a tool to collect your money, but there is much more you will want to take into consideration that is beyond the scope of our current discussion. For example:

• What is the extent of your lien, what property does it cover?
• Are there situations where you can remove–i.e., “repossess”–your property from the project site?
• What does your lien attach to if the owner is a tenant, and is it possible to get to the landlord’s interest in the property?
• How and where are documents filed and sent?

Questions?