In general, it is well known that commercial construction liens must be filed within 90 days of the last date that a contractor provided materials and/or services for a project. Although this time may appear simple at first to calculate, contractors can often make a mistake concerning the last date they provided materials and/or services for the purposes of filing a lien claim. Should a contractor make such an error, there is the possibility that their lien claim may be late due to a particular section of the construction lien statute which is often overlooked.
As discussed below, section (d) of N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-6 provides as follows:
2A:44A-6. Filing lien claim
For purposes of this act, warranty or other service calls, or other work, materials or equipment provided after completion or termination of a claimant’s contract shall not be used to determine the last day that work, services, material or equipment was provided.
It is important that a contractor not make the mistake of calculating the last date it could file a lien claim based upon warranty or service calls, or other work provided after the termination of their contract. Instead, the 90 days to file a lien claim begins to run at the time the contractor has completed its contract work, exclusive of warranty or service calls. As such, for a contractor it is extremely important that they pay close attention to this section of the lien claim statute so that their lien claim is timely filed. Obviously, if there is any doubt as to the timing of filing a lien claim it is better to file earlier than later in order to protect this right. Should there be a question in this regard, it is wise to consult with counsel as to the correct timing.