Tag Archives: lien

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES TEST APPLIES TO FRAUDULENT LIEN CLAIMS TO DETERMINE ATTORNEY’S FEES

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imagesConstruction lienors need to appreciate on the frontend that recovering statutory attorney’s fees in a construction lien action is NOT automatic—far from it.  This is because the prevailing party for purposes of attorney’s fees in a construction lien action is determined by the “significant issues test,” a subjective test with no bright line standards based on who the trial court finds prevailed on the significant issues in the case.  If you want to talk about the subjective and convoluted nature of recovering attorney’s fees in a construction lien action under the significant issues test, a recent opinion by the Fourth District Court of Appeal is unfortunately another nail in the coffin.   

 

In Newman v. Guerra, 2017 WL 33702 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017), a contractor recorded a construction lien on a residential renovation project and filed a lien foreclosure lawsuit.  The homeowner countersued the contractor and asserted a fraudulent lien claim pursuant to Florida Statute s. 713.31.  An evidentiary hearing was held on whether the lien was a fraudulent lien and the trial court held that the lien was fraudulent (therefore unenforceable) because it included amounts that were not lienable under the law.  The remaining claims including both parties’ breach of contract claims proceeded to trial.  There was no attorney’s fees provision in the contract.  At the conclusion of the trial, the court found that the contractor was entitled a monetary judgment on its breach of contract claim. 

 

Question:  If the owner prevailed in the contractor’s construction lien claim and established that the lien was in fact fraudulent, is the owner entitled to his statutory attorney’s fees? 

 

While equity may suggest “yes” as the answer, the answer is not necessarily.  This is because of the significant issues test where the court is going to look at the outcome of the entire litigation to determine the party that prevailed on the significant issues in the entire case.   Since the contractor ultimately recovered a money judgment, the court held the owner was not the prevailing party for purposes of attorney’s fees under the significant issues test.  The contractor was not either, but this is beside the point since the owner established the lien was fraudulent and the contractor recovered a money judgment under a breach of contract claim that did not provide for attorney’s fees.  Nonetheless, the court maintained:

 

In sum, the trial court properly applied the “significant issues” test…in denying the homeowner’s claim for attorney’s fees under section 713.31 [fraudulent lien statute]. Even if a party prevails on a fraudulent lien claim, the party must be the prevailing party in the case as a whole to be entitled to attorney’s fees under section 713.31.

Newman, supra, at *4.

 

 

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.

 

FINAL FURNISHING DATE IS A QUESTION OF FACT

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images-1Construction liens need to be recorded within 90 days from the lienor’s final furnishing date on the project.  This date is exclusive of punchlist or warranty work. The final furnishing date needs to be proven at trial to establish that the construction lien was timely recorded.  If there is an evidentiary dispute as the final furnishing date (the contractor claims the date was “x” to establish the lien was timely and the owner claims the date was “y” to establish the lien was untimely), then the date is a question of fact to be determined by the jury. 

 

For instance, in Best Drywall Services, Inc. v. Blasczyk, 2016 WL 6246701 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016), a contractor and owner entered into an oral agreement for a residential renovation project.  The contractor recorded a construction lien after its final two invoices went unpaid.  During trial, the contractor offered conflicting evidence as to when its final furnishing date on the project was.  Numerous dates were offered in the record including dates that were more than 90 days prior to the date the contractor recorded its lien, meaning the lien was arguably untimely.  As a result, the trial judge entered a directed verdict in favor of the owner and against the contractor on the contractor’s lien claim finding the lien was untimely recorded. 

 

On appeal, the Second District reversed the directed verdict against the contractor on its construction lien expressing that the conflicting evidence on different final furnishing dates was sufficient to create an issue of fact for the jury to determine the timeliness of the contractor’s lien–“If there are conflicts in the evidence or different reasonable inferences that may be drawn from the evidence, the issue is factual and should be submitted to the jury.”  Best Drywall Services, Inc. supra quoting Simz v. Cristinzio, 898 So.2d 1004, 1005 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005). 

 

The final furnishing date is an important part of any construction lien claim to establish the timeliness of the lien.  Make sure this final furnishing date can be supported by reasonable competent evidence (testimonial evidence supported by daily reports, payroll records, pay apps, inspections, etc.). 

 

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.

PROPERLY TERMINATING A NOTICE OF COMMENCEMENT

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unknownIn prior postings I have discussed the importance of the notice of commencement, particularly when it comes to notifying lienors of applicable information regarding their construction lien or payment bond rights and the priority of construction liens.

 

In certain circumstances, it may be in an owner’s best interest to terminate the effectiveness of the notice of commencement by recording a notice of termination of the notice of commencement.   This is governed by Florida Statute s. 713.132 set forth at the bottom of this article.

 

An owner cannot record a notice of termination of the notice of commencement as a “gotcha” tactic simply because it does not want to pay lienors or wants to lessen the value of potential liens by impacting the priority of those liens.  If this were the case, owners may regularly try to employ this tactic as a means to reduce payment obligations or pay cents on the dollar (since a construction lien is only as good as the priority of that lien and the equity in the real property).   To this point, s. 713.132(3) specifies those occasions when an owner can record a notice of termination of a notice of commencement:

 

An owner may not record a notice of termination except after completion of construction, or after construction ceases before completion and all lienors have been paid in full or pro rata in accordance with s. 713.06(4). If an owner or a contractor, by fraud or collusion, knowingly makes any fraudulent statement or affidavit in a notice of termination or any accompanying affidavit, the owner and the contractor, or either of them, as the case may be, is liable to any lienor who suffers damages as a result of the filing of the fraudulent notice of termination; and any such lienor has a right of action for damages occasioned thereby.

 

In a nutshell, an owner may terminate the notice of commencement by:

 

  1. Recording a notice of termination that references the OR BK and PG of the notice of commencement and contains the same information in the notice of commencement;
  2. Identifying the date in the notice of termination that the notice of commencement will be terminated, but the termination cannot be less than 30 days after the notice of termination is recorded (meaning the notice of commencement will NOT be terminated until at least 30 days after it is recorded);
  3. Stating that ALL lienors have been paid in full;
  4. Stating that before recording the notice of termination of the notice of commencement, the owner served a copy of the notice of termination on its contractor, anyone directly hired by the owner, and on anyone that served a notice to owner UNLESS the owner received a final waiver and release of lien upon final payment from that lienor; and
  5. Including the contractor’s payment affidavit identifying the amount it is owed and that it owes lienors, which the owner can rely on in preparing the notice of termination. 

 

Once the notice of termination of the notice of commencement is recorded, construction liens recorded after the termination will NOT relate back to the notice of commencement (thus, impacting the priority of the liens).  This is why it is important to record any construction lien within 30 days once you receive a notice of termination of the notice of commencement if you have NOT been paid in full or there is a payment dispute.

 

For example, in Lasalle Bank National Association v. Blackton, Inc., 9 So.3d 329 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011), the home-builder recoded a notice of termination of the notice of commencement that terminated the notice of commencement 30 days from its recording.  Attached to the notice of termination was the homebuilder’s payment affidavit.  There were no liens within this 30-day window.   After homeowners moved into the house and their mortgage was recorded, they notified the homebuilder of certain defects/warranty items, and the homebuilder engaged a new subcontractor to fix the defects/warranty items.  The subcontractor was not paid and recorded a lien.  The issue was whether the subcontractor’s lien related back to the notice of commencement and took priority over the homeowners’ mortgage.   The Fifth District Court of Appeal held that the mortgage had priority since the notice of commencement was terminated and the lien was recorded after the notice of commencement had been terminated.  This meant the lien was inferior to the mortgage. 

 

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.

IMPACT OF LIS PENDENS ON UNRECORDED INTERESTS / LIENS

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Foreclosure-1In a previous article, I discussed the importance of recording a lis pendens in a construction lien foreclosure action.

 

There is another noteworthy point relating to the impact of lis pendens that can provide quite a bit of consternation.

 

Florida Statute 48.23(1)(d) provides:

 

Except for the interest of persons in possession or easements of use, the recording of such notice of lis pendens, provided that during the pendency of the proceeding it has not expired pursuant to subsection (2) or been withdrawn or discharged, constitutes a bar to the enforcement against the property described in the notice of all interests and liens, including, but not limited to, federal tax liens and levies, unrecorded at the time of recording the notice unless the holder of any such unrecorded interest or lien intervenes in such proceedings within 30 days after the recording of the notice. If the holder of any such unrecorded interest or lien does not intervene in the proceedings and if such proceedings are prosecuted to a judicial sale of the property described in the notice, the property shall be forever discharged from all such unrecorded interests and liens. If the notice of lis pendens expires or is withdrawn or discharged, the expiration, withdrawal, or discharge of the notice does not affect the validity of any unrecorded interest or lien.

 

The language in this statute requires persons with unrecorded interests / liens to intervene in a lawsuit subject to a lis pendens within 30 days or else they are barred from proceeding against the property (unless the property subject to the lis pendens is not foreclosed on or the lis pendens is discharged).  This is a harsh outcome because such a person’s (unrecorded) interest may not accrue until it is already too late—beyond the 30 days of the recording of the lis pendens.

 

The best way to explain the potentially harsh application of this statute is to examine its application in a few cases.

 

In Adhin v. First Horizon Home Loans, 44 So.3d 1245 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010), a lender recorded mortgages associated with a construction loan.  The borrower entered into an agreement to sell parcels and any homes currently built on the parcels.  The parcels were sold, however, the closing agent failed to record the deeds and mortgages associated with the closing, and failed to secure any release from the construction lender as to the parcels that had been sold.   Subsequently, the construction lender foreclosed on its mortgage which included a foreclosure that applied to the parcels that had been sold.  A lis pendens had been recorded.   Approximately two months after the lis pendens was recorded, the purchasers of the parcels recorded their deeds and corresponding mortgages and moved to intervene in the construction lender’s foreclosure lawsuit.   The construction lender opposed the motion to intervene arguing that the purchasers of the parcels failed to timely intervene pursuant to s. 48.23(1)(d) since the lender’s foreclosure action impacted their rights to the parcels they purchased.  The appellate court agreed with the lender finding that the language operates as a nonclaim statute that bars enforcement against the property by a holder of an unrecorded interest (such as the purchasers of the parcels in this case) after the prescribed statutory period (30 days), provided the litigation proceeds to a final judgment and judicial sale of the foreclosed property.  This meant the purchasers of the parcels could not intervene and their rights as it related to their parcels were entirely dependent on whether the construction lender’s foreclosure action proceeded to a final foreclosure judgment and judicial sale of the property (inclusive of their property).  Ouch!!!

 

In Jallali v. Knightsbridge Village Homeowners Ass’n, Inc., 2016 WL 3548843 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016), a homeowner’s lender filed a mortgage foreclosure action and recorded a lis pendens.   While the mortgage foreclosure action was pending, the homeowner’s association recorded a lien for unpaid assessments and moved to foreclose its assessment lien.  The issue was whether the lender’s notice of lis pendens barred the homeowner’s association’s subsequent foreclosure action based on its lien for unpaid assessments.   The appellate court held it did not because the lien was based on a recorded Declaration of Covenants that was recorded prior to the filing of the lis pendens—thus, s. 48.23(1)(d) did not apply because the Declaration was an interest recoded prior to the lis pendens.

 

In Ober v. Town of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, 2016 WL 4468134 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016), a lender filed a foreclosure action and recorded a lis pendens.  The lender obtained a final judgment in foreclosure.  Subsequent to the final judgment in foreclosure, but before any foreclosure sale, the Town of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea recorded liens against the property for code violations that occurred post-final judgment.  The property was sold at a foreclosure sale and the new owner filed suit to quiet title and remove the Town’s liens.  The appellate court held that s. 48.23(1)(d) does not operate to bar liens that accrue and are recorded AFTER the final judgment.  Hence, recording a lis pendens does not operate to bar liens that occur (accrue) and are recorded post-final judgment but before a foreclosure sale.

 

When it comes to construction projects, sometimes there are multiple construction lien foreclosure actions relating to the same property. All of these foreclosure actions are routinely accompanied by a lis pendens.  Some of these actions could arguably be barred under s. 48.23 since they may be based on liens recorded outside of the 30-day window of the first lis pendens that was recorded.  So, if the initial foreclosure action results in a judicial sale of the property, the subsequently recorded liens on the property whose holder’s failed to timely intervene may be out of luck – they would not be able to foreclose on the same property that was already sold at a judicial sale.  On the other hand, under Jallali, liens relate to a notice of commencement, and similar to a Declaration of Covenants (or Condominium), could be considered a recorded interest.  The notice of commencement would be recorded prior to any construction lien, meaning that any construction lien is not based on an unrecorded interest at the time a lis pendens is recorded.  If this is true, than s. 48.23(1)(d) arguably would not apply to bar any liens that accrue and/or are recorded after 30 days from the initial lis pendens.  To preserve this argument, it is important that liens are recorded within the effective period of a notice of commencement so that the liens can relate back to the date the notice of commencement is recorded. 

 

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.

 

QUICK NOTE: PERFECTING & PRESERVING CONSTRUCTION LIEN & PAYMENT BOND RIGHTS

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imagesYou are a subcontractor, sub-subcontractor, or supplier on a construction project.  What steps can you take to maximize your ability to collect payment?  

 

 

  1. Read this chart to understand what steps you need to undertake to preserve and perfect construction lien or payment bond rights. This chart will assist you with what notices you may need to serve to preserve your lien or payment bond rights and the timing to do so.  
  2.  Read this article that has tidbits to maximize payment on a private construction project.  This article will be beneficial for any subcontractor, sub-subcontractor, or supplier that performs work on a private construction project. 
  3. Take a look at the below presentation.  This is a presentation I put on with a notice company that summarizes steps you can implement to preserve your rights and increase your chances to timely collect payment.
  4. Please consult a construction attorney so that you can be proactive and not necessarily reactive when it comes to perfecting and preserving your rights.

 

[gview file=”https://floridaconstru.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/FL-Mechanics-Liens-Roofers-DMA.pptx”]

 

 

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.

 

QUICK NOTE: FILING THE “SHOW CAUSE” COMPLAINT REGARDING A CONSTRUCTION LIEN

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imagesI have talked about your options when there is a construction lien on your property.  One option discussed is the “show cause” complaint pursuant to Florida Statute s. 713.21(4) where you sue the construction lienor giving them 20 days to show cause why its lien should not be enforced or vacated and cancelled. If the lienor fails to show cause within the 20 days by filing its construction lien foreclosure lawsuit within this time frame, the court must order cancellation of the lien. See Ruffolo v. Parish & Bowman, Inc., 966 So.2d 434, 436 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007) (“When a property owner invokes section 713.21(4), a lienor must strictly comply with section 713.21(4) in order to preserve its lien, and a trial court is without discretion to deviate from the statutorily specified time limits.”); Dracon Const. Inc. v. Facility Const. Management, Inc., 828 So.2d 1069 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002) (filing a motion for an extension of time to assert lien foreclosure lawsuit is not good cause warranting the court’s cancellation of the subcontractor’s lien.)

 

 

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.

 

THERE IS VALUE RECORDING A NOTICE OF CONTEST OF LIEN

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imagesIf you receive a construction lien on your property, I have preached the value in recording a Notice of Contest of Lien to shorten the lienor’s statute of limitations to foreclose on the lien from 1 year to 60 days.  If the unwary lienor fails to foreclose its lien within the shortened 60-day window, its lien is extinguished under the law. Ouch! (Check out this article and this article for more on Notice of Contest of Liens.)

 

Now, what if a lienor timely forecloses its lien and during the lien foreclosure lawsuit the lien is transferred from the real property to a lien transfer bond.  Typically, if a lien foreclosure lawsuit is underway and the lien is transferred to a lien transfer bond, the lienor has one year from the date of the transfer to amend its lawsuit to sue the lien transfer bond.   Could the owner record a Notice of Contest of Lien to shorten the lienor’s statute of limitations to amend its lawsuit from one year from the date of the transfer to 60 days?

 

In a recent case, the Second District held that an owner could record a Notice of Contest of Lien AFTER the lienor filed its lien foreclosure lawsuit to shorten to limitations period for the lienor to amend its lawsuit to sue the lien transfer bond to 60 days.   In this case, because the lienor failed to amend its lawsuit within 60 days, the Second District held that the lienor lost its right to sue the lien transfer bond.  This means the lienor no longer gets to foreclose its lien (against the real property or the lien transfer bond) all because a Notice of Contest of Lien was recorded after the lien foreclosure lawsuit was filed and after the lien was transferred to the bond.  This case serves as a huge “W” for owners that appreciate the value of the Notice of Contest of Lien! See Hiller v. Phoenix Associates of South Florida, Inc., 41 Fla.L.Weekly D881d (Fla. 2d DCA 2016) (“It is undisputed Phoenix [lienor] took no action in this case within sixty days after Hiller [owner] transferred the lien to a bond and served the notice of contest.  It is this failure on the part of Phoenix that compels reversal in this case.  The fact that Phoenix had a proceeding pending against the lien at the same time of the transfer did not excuse compliance with the other provisions of Chapter 713 [Lien Law]).”)

 

Remember, there is oftentimes a strategic value recording a Notice of Contest of Lien  if you are dealing with a construction lien.

 

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.

 

WHAT TO DO IF THE PAYMENT BOND IS NOT RECORDED WITH THE NOTICE OF COMMENCEMENT

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UnknownThere is an unconditional payment bond for the project but it was not recorded with the Notice of Commencement.  Now there are subcontractor construction liens recorded against the property.  What do I do?  I thought the point of the payment bond was to exempt the real property from subcontractor and supplier liens.

 

No need to worry!  Liens can be transferred to the payment bond even though the payment bond was not recorded with the Notice of Commencement.

 

The payment bond operates to “secure every lien under the direct contract accruing subsequent to its execution and delivery.”  Fla.Stat. s. 713.23(2).  Even though the payment bond was not recorded with the Notice of Commencement as required, the owner or contractor can record a Notice of Bond with a copy of the payment bond that will operate to transfer the lien to the security of the payment bond. 

 

To this point, Florida Statute s. 713.13(1)(e) states in relevant part:

 

[I]f a payment bond under s. 713.23 exists but was not attached at the time of recordation of the notice of commencement, the bond may be used to transfer any recorded lien of a lienor except that of the contractor by the recordation and service of a notice of bond pursuant to s. 713.23(2). The notice requirements of s. 713.23 apply to any claim against the bond; however, the time limits for serving any required notices shall, at the option of the lienor, be calculated from the dates specified in s. 713.23 or the date the notice of bond is served on the lienor.

 

Stated differently, just because the payment bond was not recorded with the Notice of Commencement does not mean the payment bond is worthless.  Rather, it can still be used to transfer construction liens to the security of the bond. 

 

Further, if discovered early enough, and within the effective period of the Notice of Commencement,  an Amended Notice of Commencement can be recorded which attaches a copy of the payment bond.  The Amended Notice of Commencement needs to be served by the owner “upon the contractor and each lienor who serves notice before or within 30 days after the date the amended notice is recorded.”  Fla.Stat. s. 713.13(5)(b). But, the Amended Notice of Commencement can be used to clarify the omission of the payment bond in the original Notice of Commencement.

 

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.

 

CONDITIONAL PAYMENT BONDS AND TRANSFERRING A LIEN TO THAT BOND

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imagesThere are two types of statutory payment bonds that can be furnished on private construction projects in Florida: (1) unconditional payment bonds issued pursuant to Florida Statute s. 713.23 and (2) conditional payment bonds issued pursuant to Florida Statute s. 713.245.

 

With an unconditional payment bond, an owner’s real property is exempt from construction liens from subcontractors and suppliers.

 

However, with a conditional payment bond, an owner’s real property is not exempt from construction liens from subcontractors and suppliers.  The conditional payment bond operates to condition claims against the bond to the extent the general contractor (principal of the bond) received payment from the owner.  If the general contractor did not receive payment from the owner, then the conditional payment bond does not apply.  If the general contractor did receive payment from the owner, then the conditional payment bond can operate to transfer the lien to the security of the conditional payment bond.

 

Because a lienor realistically has no way of knowing whether the general contractor was paid for their work, they are required to timely perfect their lien rights under Florida law.  This means serving a Notice to Owner and recording a construction lien within 90 days of final furnishing. 

 

Conditional payment bonds are fairly confusing so let’s use hypotheticals to explain.

 

Hypothetical #1:   Owner pays contractor for painting scope of work.  Painter timely served a Notice to Owner and recorded its lien for $75,000. 

 

The objective here would be to transfer the painter’s lien to the conditional payment bond since the contractor has been paid for this work. Under this scenario, the owner or the contractor can record within 90 days from the recording of the lien a Certificate of Payment to the Contractor certifying that the contractor has been paid $75,000 (full lien amount) for the work described in the lien.   The Certificate of Payment to the Contractor would be recorded with a Notice of Bond attaching a copy of the conditional payment bond.

 

If the contractor records the Certificate of Payment to the Contractor (together with the Notice of Bond), then the lien will be transferred to the conditional payment bond to the extent of the payment identified. 

 

If the owner records the Certificate of Payment to the Contractor (together with the Notice of Bond), the contractor can do three things: (1) record a Joinder in Certificate of Payment agreeing with the Certificate of Payment to the Contractor recorded by the owner, (2) record a Notice of Contest of Payment stating that the contractor has only been paid “x” amount of the lien; or (3) do nothing.   If the contractor does nothing or records a joinder in the Certificate of Payment, the lien will be transferred to the bond.  If the contractor records a Notice of Contest of Payment, the “contested” portion will remain a lien against the real property and any uncontested amount will be transferred to the conditional payment bond.

 

Hypothetical #2:  Owner paid contractor $50,000 but painter’s lien is $75,000.  Owner records Certificate of Payment to the Contractor for $75,000.

 

Under this scenario, the contractor may want to record a Notice of Contest of Payment within 90 days from the lien certifying it has only been paid $50,000.  If the contractor does this, the painter will have a $25,000 lien claim (the contested amount) and a $50,000 claim transferred to the conditional payment bond (the uncontested amount) since this amount would be transferred to the bond.

 

Hypothetical #3: Owner paid contractor for the painter’s scope and the painter liened.  Neither the contractor nor the owner recorded a Certificate of Payment to the Contractor together with a Notice of Bond within 90 days from the lien.

 

Under this scenario, the painter’s lien has not been transferred to the conditional payment bond even though the owner paid the contractor for the painting scope of work.   But, the lien can still be transferred to the security of the conditional payment bond even after 90 days and even after the painter files a lien foreclosure lawsuit.  The same procedure will still need to be followed with the recording of a Certificate of Payment to the Contractor together with the Notice of Bond. The difference is that the Notice of Bond must be jointly signed by the owner, the contractor, and the surety for the lien to be transferred to the bond.  See Fla.Stat. 713.245(4) (“Any notice of bond recorded more than 90 days after the recording of the claim of lien shall have no force or effect as to that lien unless the owner, the contractor and the surety all sign the notice of bond.”).

 

As you can see, conditional payment bonds can be procedurally confusing.  The key for a lienor is that it still must perfect its lien rights and record and pursue its construction lien.  The key for the owner and the contractor is that there are steps in place to transfer the lien or a portion of that lien (based on what the contractor has been paid) to the security of the conditional payment bond.

 

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.