Are Mechanic’s Liens safe anymore in Monroe County?

A mechanic’s lien is a tool empowered by Law whereby a contractor can place a financial encumbrance upon a property that they worked on in order to compel their unpaid services to be paid.  The mechanic’s lien is something most people have heard of as a sort of “last resort” for obtaining compensation for services already rendered. 

But can a contractor in Monroe County, NY duly file a mechanic’s lien and then expect it to (actually) carry the power bestowed upon it by law so that they (indeed) get paid?  Well, not necessarily.  This was the instance with a large project done by HSR in 2021 before relocating to Syracuse, N.Y. and the mechanic's lien that was filed on the property for non-payment.

Currently before the Monroe County Supreme Court is a potential benchmark civil case that should get the attention of any home or commercial contractor doing business in the State. The outcome could have a profound effect on how the Lien Law is applied/upheld in New York State, as well as what the Courts should do to parties who trample on the provisions of the Statute as well as a (prior) Court Order.

In the matter described herein, a duly filed, Court-upheld mechanic’s lien, (which was rightfully prohibiting the sale of the subject property), was somehow tossed to the side by multiple parties as the property under restriction from being sold was sold anyway.  This is a very dangerous occurrence for a lien’s inherent power to essentially be castrated by somehow flouting it for the sale to proceed.  This was done knowing that it would then force the contractor to seek legal action through a potentially expensive court process in order to finally get paid for services rendered.  The Supreme Court Ruling that upheld the validity of the lien prior to the prohibited sale set out specific (statutory) directives as to how the home could be sold under the lien encumbered conditions.  All parties to the sale ignored these directives, which ultimately led to the current case below.

The (publicly available) case documents submitted to the Court, (and included with this post below), completely validate House Surgeon Renovations position in this matter, the outcome of which will determine how much reverence the Court has for (both) a prior Supreme Court Decision and the Lien Law itself. If what happened in this case is adjudicated to be acceptable, then contractors take heed - your work product no longer has a formidable legal mechanism available for you to be paid should your client decide to stiff you on your contracted monies. Peace.  -JRC, HSR

_______________________________________

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF MONROE
 

James R. Caputo

(Plaintiff)

– vs –  

Nathan Holt, Owen Billet, Premium Mortgage
Corporation, Robert T Houle, Houle Sales
Consulting Inc, Donald Cheney Esq, Cheney Law
Firm PLLC, ABAR Abstract Corporation,
Monroe County Clerk’s Office

(Defendants)

____________________________________________

Case Documents

Initiating Papers:

Defendant Answers/Motions:

Plaintiff Responses to Defendants’ Answers/Motions: