Tag Archives: hidden liens

June 21, 2012 · 8:52 AM

Hidden Lien Legislation Appears Primed for Approval in General Assembly

The train is on the track, and there’s no slowing it down.That was the impression left on construction industry stakeholders after House Judiciary Subcommittee B approved Senate Bill 42 unanimously yesterday.

Although the bill was initially re-referred to the Finance Committee, that referral was subsequently withdrawn, and a quick scan of today’s legislative calendar suggests the bill will be considered by the entire House at 11:00 a.m. this morning (the House calendar is here; see bottom of page 2).

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Latest on Lien and Bond Bills Pending in the General Assembly

Image from Wikipedia Commons

Monday is upon is, the beginning of what is likely to be the penultimate week of the General Assembly’s 2012 short session.

As my regular readers know, I’ve been tracking two key pieces of construction-related legislation: the lien law revision bill recommended by a legislative study commission, and the bill advanced by the title insurance industry to address the “hidden lien problem.”

This post provides an update on where those two bills stand, and also reports on a third construction-related bill that hit my radar last week.

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Filed under Lien Law, Local law, policy & news, Payment Bonds, Payment Bonds, State law, policy & news, Surety Law

Tagged as double payment, hidden liens, letter of credit substitute for bonds, NC construction attorney, NC construction lawyer, NC General Assembly, NC mechanics lien law, NC mechanics liens, nc payment bond claims, nc surety attorney, nc surety law, nc surety lawyer, payment bond, raleigh construction lawer, raleigh surety attorney, raleigh surety lawyer, subcontractor payment claims, Surety bonds; surety & fidelity association, title insurance mechanics liens, Union County build-to-suit

June 13, 2012 · 7:01 AM

Title Insurers Seek Profound, Immediate Changes to N.C. Mechanic’s Lien Law

My May 23 post about proposed revisions to North Carolina’s lien laws mentioned that protection against “hidden liens” had been omitted from earlier versions of the bill, due to a concern that the issue required additional study prior to legislative action.

The title insurance industry, however, has other ideas.

In recent weeks, title insurers have ratcheted up the pressure for the issue to be addressed immediately, prior to the General Assembly’s adjournment of its “short session” at the end of this month. The legislation they are pursuing would make profound changes to the manner in which all potential lien claimants — architects, engineers, general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers included — would need to preserve their lien rights, before a claim of lien is ever filed.

This post provides background on the so-called “hidden lien problem,” summarizes the title insurers’ current legislative efforts, and identifies potential problems with their draft legislation.

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