Source: https://www.butlersnow.com/2020/05/deadlines-for-mechanics-liens-and-construction-liens-arkansas/
Timestamp: 2020-07-11 14:27:09
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Deadlines for Mechanics’ Liens and Construction Liens: Arkansas - Butler Snow
Home > News > Deadlines for Mechanics’ Liens and Construction Liens: Arkansas
Arkansas’s Lien Laws
If you are a contractor on a residential project, you must give the owner a Notice of Lien Rights prior to beginning work. If you fail to deliver the pre-work Notice, you cannot bring any claims on the project—not even traditional breach-of-contract claims or quantum meruit. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-115(a)(4). You can incorporate this Notice of Lien Rights into your standard contract, but the statute requires very specific language and typeface. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-115(a)(7).
For commercial projects, you do not need to deliver a Notice of Lien Rights prior to beginning work.
Following a project, you have 120 days from the final day you furnished labor or materials to file your lien. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-117. But first, you must serve a Notice of Intent to File Lien Claim, and you must serve this at least 10 days before filing the lien. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-114(a). Once you have served the notice and given the owner 10 days to pay, you can then file the lien with the clerk of the circuit court. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-117. All of this must be within the 120-day window. Id.
Once the lien is filed, you then must commence the lawsuit to enforce the lien within 15 months of filing, or the lien expires. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-119.
Unlike other states, Arkansas does not use the normal system of attachment and perfection in determining lien priority; instead, all mechanics’ and materialmen’s liens on a project share equal priority with each other and are dated as of the first day of construction. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-110.
If you are a subcontractor on a residential project, you must give the owner a Notice of Lien Rights prior to beginning work. If you fail to deliver the pre-work Notice, you cannot bring any claims on the project—not even traditional breach-of-contract claims or quantum meruit. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-115(a)(4). But if another subcontractor gives the Notice, then your lien rights on any labor or material provided after that notice are saved. Unlike with general contractors, you cannot merely incorporate the Notice of Lien Rights into your standard contract because your contract is not with the owner. The Notice of Lien Rights must be delivered to the owner.
For commercial projects, you do not need to deliver a Notice of Lien Rights prior to beginning work. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-115(b)(3). Instead, for commercial projects, you must deliver a Notice of Nonpayment to the owner within 75 days after you finish supplying labor or materials. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-115(b)(5)(A).
Next, for both residential and commercial projects, you must serve an additional notice on the owner, a Notice of Intent to File Lien Claim. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-114(a). Once you have served this notice and given the owner 10 days to pay, you can then file the lien with the clerk of the circuit court. Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-117. All of this must be within 120 days from the final day you furnished labor or materials. Id.
As an owner, Arkansas’ statutes tend to favor you with all the notice requirements. But in Arkansas, there are no real actions you can affirmatively take to cut down the time window for liens.
Instead, the main question will be whether the lienors provided you with all the proper notices within the corresponding time frames.