MECHANICS' LIENS

Our Massachusetts Construction Law Attorneys Can Help

Massachusetts, like most states, allows laborers, material suppliers, subcontractors and general contractors to file a mechanic's lien against the owner's equity interest as to the real property their work and materials benefit and go into. A mechanic's lien is a statutory creature governed by the extensive and fairly technical provisions of Chapter 254 of the General Laws, which laws were recently significantly re-written in 1996.

Since under various circumstances a lienor's rights come ahead of the rights of existing and filed mortgagees (banks) on the liened property and because the very existence of a mechanic's lien on real property for thirty days or more frequently constitutes a breach of most financing agreements for the owner/borrower - thus, accelerating the underlying note owed - mechanic's liens can sometimes accomplish very dynamic and relatively quick results. Also, the presence of a mechanic's lien can lead to the establishing of alternative forms of payment guaranty, such as escrow arrangements and lien bonds, which are often actually preferable to the complexity of proceeding with a mechanic's lien and which provide better security.

Mr. Sauer worked with a trade association to attempt to enact a simpler modification to that statute prior to the enactment of the 1996 amendments, meeting with legislators to discuss the same. The Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries refer ‘surfers’ to this website to assist them in understanding this subject and for assistance with their mechanic lien problems.