Legal Question in Construction Law in Illinois

My law firm handles these types of matters. If you would like to discuss further please contact me at [email protected], so we can arrange a time to talk over the phone or at our offices. I would recommend retaining an attorney to protect yourself in this matter.

Kind regards,

Namit Bammi

This is terrible but not that unusual of a situation and yes your contractor (the "GC") "SHOULD HAVE TAKEN CARE OF" this, but NO, at this point it sounds like YOU have been sued and YOU have to defend yourself -- because under Illinois mechanic's lien laws yes you as the owner can be directly liable even if the GC screwed up, and your only recourse is to get the GC into the case to make sure if you are found responsible by the court that the GC is responsible to you. An attorney needs to look at construction contract, lien waivers and related documentation your contractor (the "GC") should have given you to both get the job going and get paid. If there was a construction escrow that too. Because the GC's waivers should contain affidavits indicating the subs on the job and who was owed what and who was paid what. Because if what the sub is saying is true, the GC's waiver could very well be "fraudulent". Unfortunately a lot of GCs seem to "rob peter to pay paul" and hope they have the money at the end of the day to pay everyone. Sometime things happen, and this sounds like it happened to you. The sub has an independent right to lien your property and your recourse is to have your GC indemnify you, and that should be part of your construction contract. The sub can due you directly. This is nothing to sneeze at as a recorded lien can affect credit, your ability to refi, and a whole bunch of other annoyances. If this is the first you've heard of the situation, however, the sub may have messed up on its own lien rights as you should have received a notice of lien sooner than being served in a lawsuit. If a lien was recorded, however, you will eventually want a lien release. Based on what you're saying, it sounds like the job is long since over and the GC paid in full. If the GC is owed any money, you may have a fighting change. Hopefully the construction contract awards you attorney fees and court costs if you wind up in a lawsuit with the GC. Also hopefully the GC is still around, but it's all too easy especially for corporate GCs these days to go "bust" and leave you the homeowner in the lurch.