CHECK THE BOXES REGARDING CONTRACTUAL CONDITIONS PRECEDENT TO PAYMENT

Remember this: complying with contractual conditions precedent to payment is important. There is a reason why construction contracts include contractual conditions precedent to payment. The contract does not include this language for sh*ts and giggles. This language is included to establish what is required of the payee before payment becomes due. There may be conditions precedent to the payment of progress payments. There may be conditions precedent to the payment of final payment. Payment is not due until the conditions precedent have been satisfied. Do yourself a favor and consider this language in the construction contract, particularly if a dispute arises. If the condition precedent has not or cannot be satisfied, game plan as to the factual reason. The best thing to do is be prepared – check the boxes regarding conditions precedent to ensure you have considered this contractual language.

In a recent case, Age of Empire, Inc. v. Ocean Two Condominium Association, Inc., 2023 WL 4917089 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023), a contractor entered into a restoration contract with a condominium association. The contract provided that final payment was not due until the contractor furnished a final contractor’s payment affidavit (in accordance with Florida Statute s. 713.06). The contractor filed a lawsuit for final payment. However, the contractor did NOT furnish its final contractor’s payment affidavit prior to filing the lawsuit. Thereafter, the contractor filed an amended complaint attaching a final contractor’s payment affidavit that it served AFTER if filed the original lawsuit. The association moved to dismiss arguing that the final contractor’s payment affidavit, and date therein, demonstrated the contractor failed to satisfy a contractual condition precedent prior to filing the original lawsuit. The trial court agreed and dismissed the lawsuit before it with prejudice, but it did not dismiss with prejudice the contractor’s claim. In other words, the contractor could file a NEW lawsuit that relied on the final contractor’s payment affidavit, provided the contractor’s statute of limitations had not expired. Although the contractor appealed, the appellate court affirmed the trial court’s ruling:

Here, the exhibits [final contractor’s payment affidavit] unequivocally established that [the contractor] did not deliver the final contractor’s affidavit to the Association prior to filing suit, a condition precedent to a breach of contract claim for failure to tender final payment under the Construction Agreement. As such, we find the trial court properly dismissed the claim before it and noted that a future claim would not be barred, as dismissal with prejudice was only as to the lawsuit before it but not the actual claim. The dismissal with prejudice of a prematurely filed claim does not bar a subsequent claim once the claim has ripened.

Age of Empire, supra, at *1 (internal quotation and citation omitted).

Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding this article. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.

FILLING OUT THE CONTRACTOR’S FINAL PAYMENT AFFIDAVIT

When preparing a contractor’s final payment affidavit, I always suggest for a contractor (or anyone in privity of contract with the owner) to identify the undisputed amounts their accounting reflects is owed to ALL subcontractors, etc., regardless of whether that entity preserved their lien rights.  If the contractor provided a payment bond, I footnote this simply to support that none of the lower-tiered subcontractors have lien rights or are the traditional “lienor.”   (Thus, there is no prejudice to the owner if an entity is inadvertently omitted from the affidavit.)

There are times, however, where a contractor does not identify a subcontractor that did not serve a notice to owner and, therefore, has no valid lien rights.  Or, a contractor omits a lienor that actually did serve a notice to owner and preserve its lien rights; this happens.

There was an older First District Court of Appeals case that harshly (and, quite, unfairly) held that the contractor must identify everyone in the final payment affidavit regardless of whether that entity timely served a notice to owner or their lien is invalid.  This case, however, predated, a 1998 statutory change to Florida’s Lien Law.

Today, the statute (in Florida Statute s. 713.06) currently provides:

(d) When the final payment under a direct contract becomes due the contractor:

1. The contractor shall give to the owner a final payment affidavit stating, if that be the fact, that all lienors under his or her direct contract who have timely served a notice to owner on the owner and the contractor have been paid in full or, if the fact be otherwise, showing the name of each such lienor who has not been paid in full and the amount due or to become due each for labor, services, or materials furnished….

The contractor shall have no lien or right of action against the owner for labor, services, or materials furnished under the direct contract while in default for not giving the owner the affidavit; however, the negligent inclusion or omission of any information in the affidavit which has not prejudiced the owner does not constitute a default that operates to defeat an otherwise valid lien. The contractor shall execute the affidavit and deliver it to the owner at least 5 days before instituting an action as a prerequisite to the institution of any action to enforce his or her lien under this chapter, even if the final payment has not become due because the contract is terminated for a reason other than completion and regardless of whether the contractor has any lienors working under him or her or not.

Fla. Stat. s. 713.06(d)(1).

The Fourth District Court of Appeals in Fetta v. All-Rite Paving Contractors, Inc., 50 So.3d 1216 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010), claimed that the purpose of the statute is for the contractor to identify all lienors who have timely served a notice to owner that has not been paid in full.  (Hence, you do not need to identify those that did not timely serve a notice to owner even though, from a practical standpoint, identifying all makes sense as a just-in-case.). Further, even if there was an omission, that would not render a lien invalid unless the owner can prove prejudice and prejudice is not so easy to prove.

When in doubt, consult counsel when finalizing or filling out a contractor’s final payment affidavit.  Rights can be preserved and items footnoted as appropriate for clarification purposes, such as the fact that the amount in the affidavit may not include amounts that are not available under the lien law (i.e., delay damages).

 

 

Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding this article. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.

 

TERMINATING NOTICE OF COMMENCEMENT WITHOUT CONTRACTOR’S FINAL PAYMENT AFFIDAVIT

shutterstock_399902515Prior to construction work being performed on your property, a Notice of Commencement should be recorded.  Among other things, construction liens will relate back in time to an effective Notice of Commencement (meaning it has not expired).  For this reason, lenders or others will want the Notice of Commencement to be terminated when the job is complete by recording in the official records a Notice of Termination of the Notice of Commencement.  There is a statutory procedure to terminate a Notice of Commencement pursuant to Florida Statute 713.132.  

 

Frequently, a clerk will want the Notice of Termination of the Notice of Commencement to be accompanied with a Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit because 713.132 says, in material part:

 

(2) An owner has the right to rely on a contractor’s affidavit given under s. 713.06(3)(d), except with respect to lienors who have already given notice, in connection with the execution, swearing to, and recording of a notice of termination. However, the notice of termination must be accompanied by the contractor’s affidavit.

 

Notwithstanding, the Fifth District in Lasalle Bank National Ass’n v. Blackton, Inc., 59 So.3d 329, 331 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011) in interpreting this subsection stated:

 

We interpret this subsection to grant an owner the right to rely on the a contractor’s affidavit as an alternative to giving a sworn statement in its notice of termination that “all lienors have been paid in full.”  Here, the contractor’s affidavit attached to the notice of termination was superfluous because Independence, as owner, had already averred in the notice of termination that all lienors had been fully paid. 

 

 

It is always beneficial for an owner to obtain and rely on the Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit since the contractor would be the one to hire the subcontractors  and know whether all lienors (including itself) have been fully paid and, if not, those that are still owed money.  However, there are times an owner may not be able to get that affidavit for a host of reasons (for example, if the job never actually commenced or the contractor is uncooperative in this regard).   In these circumstances, the owner should be able to record the Notice of Termination of the Notice of Commencement absent the Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit by averring in the Notice of Termination that all lienors have been paid.

 

Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding this article. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.

CONTRACTORS SHOULD NOT FORGET TO DELIVER CONTRACTOR’S FINAL PAYMENT AFFIDAVIT

shutterstock_46898038If you are a contractor and entered into a contract with an owner, then you need to serve the owner with a Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit at least 5 days before filing a lien foreclosure lawsuit.  Fla. Stat. s. 713.06(3)(d).    Many times, when I am preparing a lien for a contractor, I like to work with the contractor on the Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit at the same time as the lien to (for lack of a better phrase) kill two birds with one stone.  This way, both the lien and Contractors’ Final Payment Affidavit can be served on the owner at the same time and the contractor has perfected its right to foreclose on the lien when it is ready to do so.

 

As Florida Statute s. 713.06(3)(d) states:

 

The contractor shall have no lien or right of action against the owner for labor, services, or materials furnished under the direct contract while in default for not giving the owner the affidavit; however, the negligent inclusion or omission of any information in the affidavit which has not prejudiced the owner does not constitute a default that operates to defeat an otherwise valid lien. The contractor shall execute the affidavit and deliver it to the owner at least 5 days before instituting an action as a prerequisite to the institution of any action to enforce his or her lien under this chapter, even if the final payment has not become due because the contract is terminated for a reason other than completion and regardless of whether the contractor has any lienors working under him or her or not.

Failing to serve the Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit can be hugely detrimental to an otherwise valid lien.  Without serving the Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit, the lien foreclosure lawsuit is not proper and should be dismissed.

 

For example, in Puya v. Superior Pools, Spas & Waterfalls, Inc., 902 So.2d 973 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005), a swimming pool contractor hired by a homeowner filed a lien foreclosure lawsuit and received a foreclosure judgment in its favor.  There was one huge problem.  The contractor never served a Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit 5 days before filing the lawsuit.   The Fourth District reversed the foreclosure judgment because the contractor’s failure to serve the Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit deprived the contractor of the right to foreclose on the lien:  “Where a contractor fails to timely furnish a final payment affidavit, the owner is generally entitled to dismissal of the contractor’s foreclosure lawsuit.”  Puya, 902 So.2d at 974.  See also Nichols v. Michael D. Eicholtz, Enterprise, 750 So.2d 719 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000) (affirming trial court’s dismissal of lien foreclosure action where contractor failed to properly provide contractor’s final payment affidavit).

 

Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding this article. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.

 

SERVING CONTRACTOR’S FINAL PAYMENT AFFIDAVIT BY CONTRACTORS (OR SUBCONTRACTORS) IN PRIVITY OF CONTRACT WITH PRIVATE OWNER

imagesContractors (or even subcontractors) in privity of contract with a private owner must serve a Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit within 5 days before foreclosing on the lien. The objective is to swear to the owner the final payment the contractor is seeking and those unpaid lienors working under the contractor.  This is set forth in Florida Statute s. 713.06(3)(d) which provides:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(d) When the final payment under a direct contract becomes due the contractor:

1. The contractor shall give to the owner a final payment affidavit stating, if that be the fact, that all lienors under his or her direct contract who have timely served a notice to owner on the owner and the contractor have been paid in full or, if the fact be otherwise, showing the name of each such lienor who has not been paid in full and the amount due or to become due each for labor, services, or materials furnished. The affidavit must be in substantially the following form:

CONTRACTOR’S FINAL PAYMENT AFFIDAVIT

State of Florida

County of _______

Before me, the undersigned authority, personally appeared (name of affiant) , who, after being first duly sworn, deposes and says of his or her personal knowledge the following:

1. He or she is the (title of affiant) , of (name of contractor’s business) , which does business in the State of Florida, hereinafter referred to as the “Contractor.”

2. Contractor, pursuant to a contract with (name of owner) , hereinafter referred to as the “Owner,” has furnished or caused to be furnished labor, materials, and services for the construction of certain improvements to real property as more particularly set forth in said contract.

3. This affidavit is executed by the Contractor in accordance with section 713.06 of the Florida Statutes for the purposes of obtaining final payment from the Owner in the amount of $___.

4. All work to be performed under the contract has been fully completed, and all lienors under the direct contract have been paid in full, except the following listed lienors:

NAME OF LIENOR  _______AMOUNT DUE

Signed, sealed, and delivered this ____ day of ____, ____.

[Add signature and notary seal] 

 

The contractor shall have no lien or right of action against the owner for labor, services, or materials furnished under the direct contract while in default for not giving the owner the affidavit; however, the negligent inclusion or omission of any information in the affidavit which has not prejudiced the owner does not constitute a default that operates to defeat an otherwise valid lien. The contractor shall execute the affidavit and deliver it to the owner at least 5 days before instituting an action as a prerequisite to the institution of any action to enforce his or her lien under this chapter, even if the final payment has not become due because the contract is terminated for a reason other than completion and regardless of whether the contractor has any lienors working under him or her or not.

 

 

Not timely serving the Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit 5 days before commencing the construction lien foreclosure action has the unkind affect of invalidating the contractor’s construction lien.  See Timbercraft Enterprises v. Adams, 563 So.2d 1090 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990) (contractor hired to clear land lost its construction lien by failing to timely serve Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit); Sunair Development Corp. v. Gay, 509 So.2d 1361 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987) (contractor hired to perform painting and carpentry lost construction lien by failing to timely serve Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit); Bishop Signs, Inc. v. Magee, 494 So.2d 532 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986) (sign contractor lost its construction lien by failing to serve Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit).

  

If a contractor fails to serve the Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit before filing its lien foreclosure action, it needs to (a) promptly serve the Affidavit and file an amended complaint within the applicable statutory limitations period, (b) argue that its noncompliance should be excused, or (c) argue that the owner waived the right to invalidate the contractor’s lien through the contractor’s failure to serve a Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit.

 

A. Serving Affidavit and Amending Complaint within Statutory Limitations Period

 

The Florida Supreme Court in Holding Electric, Inc. v. Roberts, 530 So.2d 301 (Fla. 1988) held that if a contractor fails to timely serve a Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit before initiating a lien foreclosure lawsuit, the contractor can remedy this noncompliance by serving the affidavit and amending its complaint within the statutory limitations periodSee Holding Electric, 530 So.2d at 302 (“[A]n amended complaint may be filed to show delivery of the contractor’s affidavit, provided the statute of limitations has not run prior to the filing of the amended complaint.”).

 

B. Noncompliance should be Excused

 

In Coquina, Ltd. V. Nicholson Cabinet Co., 509 So.2d 1344 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984), noncompliance with the timely service of the Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit was excused when the owner contested the lien by recording a Notice of Contest of Lien that shortened the statutory limitations period to foreclose the lien to 60 days and the contractor served the Affidavit 3 days (instead of 5 days) before filing suit.  Notwithstanding, the Fourth District in Pierson D. Construction, Inc. v. Yudell, 863 So.2d 413 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003) still held that the Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit needed to be served within the applicable statutory limitations period (even if it was not served within 5 days before filing the lawsuit). In other words, not serving it at all could be fatal to the contractor’s lien foreclosure action.

 

Also, the Fourth District in Bishop Signs held, “[t]he applicable concern should be whether it is the type of contract which, by its nature, does not entail the services of subcontractors or the furnishing of labor or material by others.”  Bishop Signs, 494 So.2d at 534. Hence, if the contractor failed to serve the Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit, it may want to argue that its noncompliance is excused because the type of project it was hired to perform does not entail the services of suppliers or subcontractors.  Though, on most projects, this is a difficult argument to realistically make!

 

C. Owner Waived the Right to Argue Noncompliance

 

In Rivera v. Hammer Head Constr. & Development Corp., 14 So.3d 1190 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009), the contractor failed to serve the Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit.  The contractor’s complaint pled that all conditions precedent to bringing the action had occurred, had been performed, or were waived.  In response to this allegation, the owner pled is was “without knowledge” as to whether this allegation was true.  The owner, however, did not plead that this was not true because the contractor failed to timely serve a Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit.  As a result, when the owner raised this issue at trial to invalidate the contractor’s lien, the court held that the owner waived its right to raise this argument because the owner never pled the contractor’s non-performance with any particularity.

 

In conclusion, it is always good practice to timely serve the Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit within 5 days before filing suit, even if the statutory limitations period is shortened through a Notice of Contest of Lien (or even a lawsuit to show cause).  But, if the Affidavit is not timely served, there are arguments a contractor can raise under the law to try to defeat an owner’s efforts to invalidate the lien due to this noncompliance. 

 

Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding this article. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.