I am a licensed plumber and have a contract with a general contracter to do plumbing jobs. I received a down payment to start...
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The following are NJ statutes:
2A:44A-3. Lien entitlement for work, services, etc.
3. Any contractor, subcontractor or supplier who provides work, services, material or equipment pursuant to a contract, shall be entitled to a lien for the value of the work or services performed, or materials or equipment furnished in accordance with the contract and based upon the contract price, subject to the provisions of sections 9 and 10 of this act. The lien shall attach to the interest of the owner in the real property. If a tenant contracts for improvement of the real property and the contract for improvement has not been authorized in writing by the owner of a fee simple interest in the improved real property, the lien shall attach only to the leasehold interest of the tenant.
Nothing in this act shall be construed to limit the right of any claimant from pursuing any other remedy provided by law.
2A:44-128.Debts for labor and materials; funds liable; asserting lien; forfeiture of lien
2A:44-128. a. Any person who, as laborer, mechanic, materialman, merchant or trader, or subcontractor, in pursuance of or conformity with the terms of any contract for any public improvement made between any person and a public agency as defined in N.J.S.2A:44-126 and authorized by law to make contracts for the making of public improvements, performs any labor or furnishes any materials, including the furnishing of oil, gasoline or lubricants and vehicle use, toward the performance or completion of any such contract, shall, on complying with the provisions of subsection b. of N.J.S.2A:44-128, N.J.S.2A:44-132 and N.J.S.2A:44-133, have a lien for the value of the labor or materials, or both, upon the moneys due or to grow due under the contract and in the control of the public agency, to the full value of the claim or demand. The lien may be filed and, to the extent of the amount due or to grow due under the contract, shall become an absolute lien to the full value of the labor performed or materials furnished in favor of every person and his representatives and assigns employed by or furnishing materials to the contractor or subcontractor.
No public agency shall be required to pay a greater amount than the contract price of the labor performed and materials furnished or the value thereof when no specific contract is made with respect to the same by the contractor or subcontractor, respectively.
b. Any person who may seek to assert a lien under subsection a. of this section shall, within 20 days of the first performance of work or performance of work or delivery of labor or materials to a subcontractor, file with the municipal clerk, the chief financial officer of the county or the chairman of the commission, board or authority, whichever is appropriate, written notice that he or she has furnished labor or materials to the subcontractor. The notice shall contain the name, address and telephone number of the person providing the labor or materials, the name and geographical location of the public improvement for which the labor or materials have been supplied, the name of the subcontractor to which the labor or materials have been supplied, a description of the labor or materials supplied, and the date that the labor or materials were first supplied to the subcontractor. The officer of the public agency shall maintain a separate file for all written notices which shall be available to the public for inspection and copying during regular business hours. Failure to provide this written notice as required within 20 days of the first performance of work or delivery of labor or materials to the subcontractor shall be a bar to secure a lien for the labor or materials provided, unless there is money owing from the contractor to the subcontractor to whom the labor or materials were provided, in which case the lien shall be limited in value to a sum not greater than the money owing from the contractor to the subcontractor.
The public entity with which the notice required by this section is filed may charge an inquiry fee for information contained in the notice to any person, including the contractor. The inquiry fee shall be reasonable and shall be set to reflect the cost to the public entity of retrieving the information.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, if a notice is filed after the 20-day period, the person so filing may assert a lien under subsection a. of this section for any labor or materials provided on or after that filing date.
No additional notice shall be required for work or materials provided under the same public improvement contract subsequent to the initial notice, notwithstanding that the work and materials may be provided under a separate contract or purchase order.
Please see the information and forms at the following links:
http://lawdigest.uslegalforms.com/contractors/index.php?dID=3655
