Connecticut’s Procedure for Substituting a Bond for a Mechanic’s Lien Needs to be Changed

The purpose of a mechanic’s lien is to provide collateral for a contract debt. If you perform work on a project and are not paid, then the mechanic’s lien laws allow you to attach the property where the work was performed. In other words, a mechanic’s lien provides you with a property right you can foreclose in the same manner a bank can foreclose a mortgage. However, before you can force a sale of the property to collect your money, you have to prove you are entitled to the payment you claim. Therefore, a mechanic’s lien could be in place a long time.

Because the lien laws are intended to provide security for a debt, but are not intended to prevent the property from being transacted, most states, including Connecticut, have a procedure by which a surety bond can be substituted for a mechanic’s lien. The problem with Connecticut’s procedure is that it is too long and cumbersome.

While a mechanic’s lien is in place, a property cannot be refinanced, or sold – at least not without addressing the mechanic’s lien to a lender’s and/or buyer’s satisfaction. It is possible that the property might be refinanced or sold if the owner places the lien amount in escrow,

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE NOT BEING PAID

The most common issue I confront as a construction attorney is what to do when my client is not being paid. The standard approaches include sending a demand letter, making a demand for disputed funds to be placed in escrow in accordance with the prompt payment statute, and, of course, filing mechanic’s liens and/or bond claims. The larger issue becomes what to do when my client can no longer to perform its work without payment.

As a general rule, a contractor is better off completing its work, and then fighting about the monies due, as opposed to walking off the job. While it is true that there are Connecticut cases which hold that a contractor is excused from finishing its work if progress payments are not made when due, but reliance on such cases is fraught with potential problems.

If you ever forced to litigate, you want to be viewed as the one wearing the white hat. You want to be the injured party that is as pure as the driven snow. If at all possible, you do not want to give the other side any arguments to raise. Thus, if you walk off the job for nonpayment,

Remedial Work Does Not Extend the Deadline to Commence an Action on a Payment Bond

As most contractors are aware, if they are not paid for their labor, materials, and/or services, they can strengthen their position prior to filing a lawsuit by filing a mechanic’s lien, or by making a claim against the project’s bond claim. Of course, both options are not generally available. Typically, the choice is based upon whether the project is private or public. On private projects, a contractor (or supplier) is allowed to gain a security interest in the property by filing a mechanic’s lien. On public projects, federal and local governments passed laws requiring the general contractor on public projects to post “payment bonds,” which guarantee the payment of those who supply labor, materials, and/or services to the property. In other words, because governments were not willing to let public lands be subject to foreclosure, on public projects, statutorily required payment bonds were created to take the place of mechanic’s liens. Of course, private owners may require general contractors to post payment bonds on private projects as well, but this post only addresses the statutory payment bonds required on public projects.

The law that requires payment bonds on federal projects is known as the Miller Act. The various state laws that require payment bonds on state projects are often referred to as “Little Miller Acts.” The requirements are the Miller Act and the various Little Miller Acts are generally similar.

The City of Hartford Stadium Authority Has Terminated the Developer of Dunkin Donuts Park — Here’s What Comes Next

If you are a trade contractor or supplier working on Dunkin Donuts Park in Hartford, Connecticut, you have undoubtedly heard that the City of Hartford Stadium Authority (Authority) has terminated the developer and made claim against its insurer. Although the news reports are referring to the situation as an “insurance claim,” those reports are inaccurate. The Authority has submitted a bond claim. If your work is currently in limbo because of the Authority’s termination, your next steps depend upon how the surety that posted the subject bonds intends to respond.

As more fully explained below, there are different types of bonds that were most likely posted by the developer.

[T]here are important differences between performance bonds and commercial general liability contracts… The purpose of a performance bond is to guarantee the completion of the contract upon default by the contractor. Accordingly, suretyship is properly viewed as a form of credit enhancement in which premiums are charged in consideration of the fundamental underwriting assumption that the surety will be protected against loss by the principal.

Capstone Bldg. Corp. v. Am. Motorists Ins. Co., 308 Conn. 760, 791-792 (Conn. 2013). In other words, unlike an insurance claim that will be paid if based upon a covered loss,