A lien is certainly not a lawsuit. It is a notice of non-payment for real estate improvemens; an issue that is headed for the courthouse very shortly.
You cannot take a lien to the bank and force payment. You need a writ from the court to do that. That took a lawsuit and a trial. Such trials are incredibly brief in small claims. The outcomes are virtually automatic success to the plaintiff: the tradesman.
Liens work wonders when the building is financed by a construction loan, or a take out loan will occur upon completion. Banks will insist on the payment being made even before going to the courthouse. It's in their loan contract everytime. The financing stops and the bank begins foreclosure proceedings rather quickly.
Just because lien law is not applied to service work means nothing. In service work, there'll be no bank financing to use as a club. So the lien will ALWAYS end up in court. That's why the law doesn't allow liens for such maters. You just go straight to step 2: I'll be seeing you in court.
You guys are not filing enough lawsuits in small claims court. To do so is cheap. The GC has essentially no defense. Losing a couple of such cases, in my state, suspends or destroys GC's contractor's license. That's not a hammer: it's a jackhammer.
The essence of a licensed GC is he can't be a deadbeat and keep his license. You are letting these jerks get away with jamming you; when you'll automatically win when you get to court.
By the way, it's not cheap for the GC to go to court, either. Don't be surprised that your case gets settled right on the courthouse steps. Drive by the court house sometime. Somebody's always haggling on the steps.
Unpaid judgements are entered into the public record and will quite literally destroy his business.
If you gang up with two other tradesmen... combining unpaid judgements... you can intitiate a bankruptcy petition for him without his consent.
His company will be on the Federal books in bankruptcy court so fast he can't believe it. You serve him notice, just like a lawsuit, and see him in Federal Court. This would be extreme, but it is how you run a deadbeat out on a rail.
Long before the court weighs in on the matter, Mr. Deadbeat is dead. That chapter 7 petition will stay on his credit file for at least 10 years.
All that you have to do is fight back in court. You'll win, and win without an attorney. All that you have to say is:
I'm a licensed contractor... proof.
I subbed with Mr. Deadbeat, also licensed...proof.
I've received partial payments... proof.
He is tardy on the final payment without contract justification... proof.
I therefore seek judgement for $$$$ plus court costs, fees as per the contract...
Evidence: the billings, the written contract.
An oral contract will be just as binding... but will necessarily cause the GC to counter argue.
As an electrician, the signed off inspections, permits and proper running order of your work are killer evidence. Mr. Deadbeat doesn't have a leg to stand on.
That's how the case goes down in court. And Mr. Deadbeat knows it. I would be stunned if Mr. Deadbeat even stands in front of the judge. You'll get your money on the courthouse steps. Losing such lawsuits destroys his business.
His own legal fees are going to make any negotiated cram-down a loser for him.
STOP LETTING THESE CLOWNS RUN YOU. Go to court, you'll win.
P.S. I know of one EC who has sued so many that he could become a trial lawyer. Why... because that's how he kept his profits and made his business work. Current net worth... easily $50,000,000.
