Mechanics’ liens are leverage for those who design and build. Proactive owners and developers work to avoid valid mechanics liens altogether,or to destroy invalid ones, because any mechanics lien clouds title and prevents them from transacting in real property. We work comfortably on both sides of that reality.
How We Work For Owners, Developers, Lenders, and Title Stakeholders
When a mechanics lien threatens a closing, refinance, or draw, we move quickly. We test the mechanics lien’s validity under applicable mechanics lien law, issue demands that force weak claims to disappear, and, when needed, bond over mechanics liens so deals can proceed while the dispute is resolved off-title. In one adaptive-reuse matter, we bonded off a large mechanics lien and negotiated a resolution at four cents on the dollar, preserving the developer-GC–GC relationship and keeping the project moving. We have eliminated fraudulent filings, guided condo associations through contractor defaults, and developed common-law bond solutions when statutory bonding was impossible due to a claimant’s bankruptcy. Our goal is straightforward: to keep capital flowing, maintain a clean title, and resolve the mechanics lien without unnecessary litigation.
How We Work for Mechanics’ Lien Claimants
For design-builders, architects, general contractors, and specialty trades, we prepare and record mechanics’ lien claims in accordance with the applicable law, then negotiate payment from a position of strength. Where a property is vertically or horizontally subdivided, we focus on getting the legal description right so the recorded mechanics lien attaches to the correct estate or interests and avoids others. On mixed-use assets, we often allocate the overall dollar value of the mechanics lien claim across the specific interests that were improved—for example, individual condominium units and their lenders, dedicated parking, retail components, and the building’s common elements—so the dollar value of the mechanics lien is apportioned to the right interests. When early resolution is not possible, we file a lawsuit to foreclose and pursue the case. We have successfully recorded and, where necessary, foreclosed on seven-figure mechanics lien claims while preserving key relationships through mediation and practical deal-making.
Why These Matters Are Hard and How We Handle Them
Mechanics lien law is exacting. Deadlines are short. Notices must be served the right way. Priority against lenders can turn on days, not weeks. On sophisticated deals, subordination language and interim assignments can collide with applicable law. We are familiar with the pitfalls and have successfully litigated the issues. In a high-rise dispute, we successfully defended our client against a lender’s attempt to use a pre-funding subordination agreement to extinguish our client’s mechanics lien; the court ruled that the agreement violated applicable law, and our client’s mechanics lien priority was upheld. In other matters, we have steered owners and claimants through bankrupt upstream parties, complex ownership structures, and title requirements, ensuring that mechanics lien rights are protected or invalid claims are cleared, without derailing the business objective.
Mechanics Liens at a Glance
We recorded and then filed suit to foreclose a $7.7 million mechanics lien on a specialty hospital renovation when negotiations stalled, initiating a multi-party lawsuit to aggressively assert our client’s interest
We recorded an approximately $6.8 million mechanics lien on an automobile manufacturing facility while managing a parallel project cybersecurity issue, then mediated to a business-forward resolution that protected relationships and cash flow
We recorded a $1.1 million mechanics lien for a façade rehabilitation contractor after a project suspension, securing the value of delivered labor and materials
We recorded an approximately $1 million mechanics lien for a building-component fabricator covering design, fabrication, and supply of wall panels and structural elements
In a luxury condo de-conversion, we recorded a mechanics lien and allocated the overall dollar value of the mechanics lien claim across individual units, their mortgage lenders, commercial components, and common elements—securing full payment without litigation
We won a landmark ruling, keeping a claimant’s mechanics lien ahead of a commercial lender’s mortgage lien that relied on an improper subordination agreement
We structured a two-tier settlement after recording a mechanics lien on a large multifamily redevelopment, achieving a 97% recovery through escrowed funds and a secured note
We cleared invalid and abusive mechanics liens for owners and investors through targeted demands, negotiations, and, when required, bonding off under applicable statutes or by common-law bond to keep transactions on track
What To Expect With Us
First, a clear map of deadlines, options, and the range of likely outcomes under applicable law. Then, a tailored plan—record the mechanics lien now or wait out a tactical delay; mediate, negotiate, or file suit to foreclose; settle the mechanics lien, bond over it, or attack to destroy—designed around the business goal you need to hit. We speak lender, title, and escrow, so mechanics liens are handled in step with financing conditions, sworn statements, and waivers. Most matters resolve early when the facts and documents are put in the right order. When they do not, we litigate efficiently and with purpose.
Licensure and Reach
Mechanics lien law is a creature of state statute, and it is different in every state. Most lawyers can do excellent mechanics lien work in one jurisdiction; for our firm, that is Illinois.
Our lawyers are licensed in Illinois, Arizona, Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and California, and when clients need mechanics lien help in other states, we team with trusted local design and construction counsel as co-counsel to move quickly and get paid or get the mechanics lien removed. We can assist with projects in most other states as well, consistent with applicable legal ethics rules.
The Illinois Mechanics Lien Act is a powerful tool that helps people get paid for design and construction. However, Illinois mechanics lien law is extraordinarily complex. If the content of a lien claim is not precisely accurate, the lien can have little value. A Chicago mechanics lien lawyer can use minor typos to defeat lien claims. Jeremy prepares and records Mechanics Lien claims with great caution. He has successfully protected property owner and developer clients from dozens of liens with minor technical defects.
Contact our firm today to protect your rights, resolve lien disputes, or ensure valid mechanics liens are properly recorded.
A lien claim is an interest in property that can “attach” to the land and buildings where the project is located. Like mortgages, mechanics liens can be “foreclosed” through lawsuits. Often, it is unnecessary for lien claimants to file suit to get paid. This is because property owners, developers, and lenders all know that lien claimants who prevail on lien foreclosure lawsuits can force a “judicial sale” of the property. Proceeds from the judicial sale are used to pay off claims against the property. The act of recording a lien “secures” the claim for payment by attaching it to valuable property.
Why Is the Illinois Mechanics Lien Act so Pro-Claimant?
Lien claimants who satisfy the Act’s requirements can “leapfrog” ahead of other claims against the property. Liens recorded later in time can often get “priority” in the sale proceeds over claims recorded earlier in time, like mortgages. Lenders make loans assuming the value of the property secures their loan. They dislike mechanics liens. No lender wants architects, engineers, or contractors to have the power to force a sale of the property. That imperils the value of their mortgages. Lenders often put pressure on property owners and developers to settle or bond over lien claims.
Why Are Illinois Mechanics Liens So Complicated?
The Illinois Mechanics Lien Act imposes short deadlines. They must be timely met and with exacting precision. The Lien Act is over a century old. Its archaic language can confuse even experienced judges and attorneys. The Act does not identify all the content that must be included in mechanics lien claims. To know the required content, drafters of valid mechanics lien claims must be steeped in decades of caselaw. Also, each project, property, and claimant is different. To draft a lien claim, attorneys must almost always hire a Title Company to prepare a “Tract Search” as a first step. They can take weeks, robbing lien claimants of the time needed to record their liens. Drafting lien claims requires judgment and strategy and should be done by seasoned mechanics lien lawyers in Chicago who can anticipate likely defenses based on the unique characteristics of the project and property.
Using Mechanics Liens to Get Paid
Chicago-based mechanics lien lawyer Jeremy has recovered millions of dollars for architect, engineer, and contractor clients using mechanics liens. He frequently records lien claims against projects in the Chicagoland area. When necessary and strategic, Jeremy also files lawsuits to foreclose lien claims to help his clients collect past due accounts receivable. Jeremy has both litigated against – and represented – property owners, developers, and lenders in mechanics lien and mortgage foreclosure litigation. If you are considering a mechanics lien claim, please contact us here to start the process.
What deadlines must I meet to make a lien claim?
The Illinois Mechanics Lien Act imposes a variety of short deadlines. There are various types of liens, and each has different deadlines. In some cases, your last date of substantive work starts the clock running. Other liens have earlier deadlines, sometimes near the project outset. Liens on private projects and their deadlines differ from public project liens. If you have a contract with the property owner, your deadlines are different than if another party hired you. Often, it is difficult to determine – with certainty – a lien claimant’s true deadline to record a lien until a Title Company performs research into the real property records. With mechanics liens, the golden rule is simple: Start the process early.
What information does my mechanics lien lawyer need to make a lien claim?
Usually, Chicago mechanics lien attorneys need this kind of information to record a mechanics lien:
Whether the project is on public or private land
Your last date of substantive work on the project
Copies of your contracts and proposals for the project
The identities of other parties involved in the project
The complete name of the client that hired you
The street address of the location of the project
The legal description of that property
The 14-digit Property Index Number (PIN) for the property
The identity of the property owner listed on the deed
Other parties with an interest in the property, like lenders
Payment applications, sworn statements, and lien waivers
Whether any parties might have claims against you
Your project labor detail report (showing hours, dates, dollars)
A project accounting with specific content in a specific format
Other project-specific and property-specific facts
Some of this information – like PIN Numbers, the identity of the property owner on the deed, the identity of lenders – must be obtained through Title Company research. Potential lien claimants need to begin the process sufficiently early for their attorneys to hire a Title Company to perform the necessary research into the property records.
Won’t recording a lien upset my client?
Possibly…but who cares? No prudent business owner would intentionally allow their deadline to record a lien claim pass for this reason. Doing so tells your clients you are not serious about collecting past due payments and invites them to not pay you!
Do property owners and developers often try to dissuade architects, engineers, and contractors from recording lien claims? Yes, often! Do they try to convince designers and contractors that the project will collapse or the lender will foreclose its mortgage if lien claims are recorded? Yes, absolutely! Is that true? Occasionally…but who cares? Sophisticated property owners, developers, and lenders understand that designers and contractors who record liens are simply being prudent, not looking to pick a fight. They often pay lien claimants first. Also, once you have been paid, it is very simple, quick, and inexpensive to release the mechanics lien claim.
NOTE: Baker Law Group LLC only records mechanics lien claims in Illinois.
