A Notice of Nonpayment, similar to a lien, is a document that’s sent to the bonded contractor and his or her surety, advising them that you’re owed money on a job and you intend to look to the bond to be paid.
In order to assert your claim against the payment bond, you need to file suit against that payment bond surety within 1 year of your last work on the job. This differs from a situation where you may be foreclosing a lien.
In that case, you have one year from the recording date of the Claim of Lien. With a bond, you have only one year from the last date of work — that could be a spread of as much as 90 days. Don’t mix up the two rules.
Alexander Barthet is a board certified construction attorney in Florida and holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering. He manages The Barthet Firm, a construction law firm in Miami, and maintains a construction law blog at www.TheLienZone.com. He can be reached at 305-347-5295 or alex@barthet.com.
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