New York Commercial and Construction Lawyer Blog
According to the New York Lien Law, a mechanic’s lienor who is a subcontractor may only recover on its lien claim if it can establish there is a Lien Fund. That means the lienor must establish that funds were due and owing from the owner to the contractor in an amount at least equal to the amount of the lien. If the lienor in either a private or public setting cannot establish the validity of a Lien Fund, then the lien is subject to dismissal.
The Lien Fund concept is designed to protect an owner against an unfair “double liability.” In other words, if the owner has paid its contractor in full, an owner and its property should not be liable to pay a subcontractor simply because the contractor is the reason for, and source of, the non-payment. To that extent, a subcontractor’s mechanic’s or public improvement lien is derivative of the contractor’s claim against the owner. The Lien Fund concept also applies to a sub-subcontractor lien, so the sub-subcontractor must establish a contractor-subcontractor Lien Fund.
Generally, in order for the lienor to recover, it must establish that the Lien Fund existed on the date of the filing of the mechanic’s lien. If it can, then assuming the lienor can meet all the other requirements of proving the validity of its lien, it will be entitled to a recovery. In Specrite Design LLC v. Elli N.Y. Design Corp. (S.D.N.Y. 14 Civ. 6154) (July 26, 2017), Judge Edgardo Ramos addressed whether this general rule applies when the lienor was retained by a contractor that had been defaulted by the owner. Judge Ramos found that the general rule does not apply in these circumstances. Under the specific facts presented in Specrite, the lienor would not be able to foreclose on its lien even though the contractor was purportedly owed monies on the date of the filing of the subcontractor’s mechanic’s lien.