Pay-if-paid and pay-when-paid clauses permeate large construction projects In theory, the clauses protect a contractor from downstream liability where its upstream or hiring party (usually the owner) fails to pay. Beal Bank Nevada v. Northshore Center THC, LLC, 2016 IL App (1st) 151697 examines the fine-line distinction between PIP and PWP contract terms. a lender …
Category Archives: Mechanics Lien/Construction Law
Tacking Unsigned Change Orders On To Contractors’ Lien Not Enough For Constructive Fraud – IL Court
Constructive mechanics lien fraud and slander of title are two central topics the appeals court grapples with in Roy Zenere Trucking & Excavating, Inc. v. Build Tech, Inc., 2016 IL App (3d) 140946. There, a commercial properly developer appealed bench trial judgments for two subcontractor plaintiffs – a paving contractor and an excavating firm – …
Lien Inflation and “Plus Factors” – Constructive Fraud in Illinois Mechanics Lien Litigation
The contractor plaintiff in Father & Sons Home Improvement II, Inc. v. Stuart, 2016 IL App (1st) 143666 was caught in several lies in the process of recording and trying to foreclose its mechanics lien. The misstatements resulted in the nullification of its lien and the plaintiff being on the hook for over $40K in opponent attorneys’ fees. …