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<DIV align=left dir=ltr><SPAN class=583062513-19082009><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><STRONG>[This is not legal advice and is provided for
discussion and exchange of ideas purposes only]</STRONG></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV align=left dir=ltr><SPAN class=583062513-19082009><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2></FONT></STRONG></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV align=left dir=ltr><SPAN class=583062513-19082009><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2>In my opinion, your customer needs to see a construction
lawyer who specializes in defending against liens. The Florida Lien law is one
of the most complicated legal messes there is and on top of that, it changes at
least slightly almost every year-- and then case law modifies (er, interprets)
the statutory changes. I know this because this is in my practice area
even though I am not up in your part of the state.</FONT></STRONG></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=583062513-19082009></SPAN><STRONG><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT size=2>I<SPAN class=583062513-19082009>f your customer does
not know of such a lawyer, the Florida Bar has a list of Board Certified
Construction Lawyers on its website (<A href="http://www.flabar.org">www.flabar.org</A>) which is a good place to
start looking. Normally, $42,000 falls into what we call the litigation
hell of enough money lost to hurt but not enough to be cost-effective to
litigate over. However, because the lien law has a number of provisions that
provide for attorneys fees, the inability of unlicensed contractors (and
designers) to charge and keep moneys from their work (subs below are sometimes
protected), it makes sense to your customer to buy a couple hours of the right
lawyer's time for the lawyer to construct a timeline of events and do an
analysis of what kind of position your customer is in and what her options may
be.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT size=2><SPAN class=583062513-19082009></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT size=2><SPAN class=583062513-19082009>Hope this was a little bit
helpful.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT size=2><SPAN class=583062513-19082009></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT size=2><SPAN class=583062513-19082009>Good luck (to your customer) and best
regards,</SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT size=2><SPAN class=583062513-19082009></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT size=2><SPAN class=583062513-19082009>Robert</SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT size=2><SPAN class=583062513-19082009></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT size=2><SPAN class=583062513-19082009>
<DIV align=left><EM><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><STRONG>Robert S.
Fine, Esq., AIA</STRONG></FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV align=left><EM><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2>Environmental, Land
Development, Accessibility,</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV align=left><EM><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2>Building and Life
Safety Codes Law</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV align=left><EM><U><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2>Board Certified in
Construction Law</FONT></U></EM></DIV>
<DIV align=left><EM><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><STRONG>Greenberg
Traurig, PA</STRONG></FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV align=left><EM><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2>1221 Brickell
Avenue</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV align=left><EM><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2>Miami, Florida
33131</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV align=left><EM><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2>Tel: (305)
579-0826</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV align=left><EM><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2>Fax:(305)
961-5826</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV align=left><EM><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2>E-Mail: <A href="mailto:FineR@gtlaw.com">FineR@gtlaw.com</A></FONT></EM></DIV></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
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<P CLASS="MsoNormal" STYLE="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN STYLE="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype'"></SPAN> <DIV align=left class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr lang=en-us>
<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> codetalk-bounces@myfloridacode.com
[mailto:codetalk-bounces@myfloridacode.com] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Dave
Mahoney<BR><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, August 18, 2009 6:39 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
codetalk@myfloridacode.com<BR><B>Subject:</B> [Florida Code Talk] Liesn/ Notice
of commencement/<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I have a question that I know
someone can answer for me. I did take the class on Florida Lien Laws but that
was a couple of years ago and I cannot remember everything so before I begin to
research this I am sure one of you Ladies or Gentleman may have a better memory
than me. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> Here is the
Scenario<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in"><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Just
recently I have started doing many different jobs for a wonderful customer.
Before I Started working for her she hired a Design Company to remodel 2
of her bathrooms for a job total of $ 42,000.00. I’ve seen the work that they
had done and the job came out really nice. Here is her problem. She told me
today that she had paid the design company in full on May 15<SUP>th</SUP> when
the job was completed. She received a phone call today from one of the sub
contractors that said that they were not paid. First I looked at her invoice and
did not see a license number. A red Flag went up. I asked her if she had paid
each different Contractor separately. She did not. Apparently the design
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Company is acting as a contractor.
Red flag came up again. I asked her if there was a permit pulled. Her answer was
no I didn’t want my taxes to go up. My next question was did you sign a notice
of commencement. No she did not. I KNOW STUPID, STUPID, STUPID that is why she
should hire a contractor. I then asked if she had received any registered
letters from suppliers or Sub contractors introducing themselves before they had
started any work . The 3 Ways I know are registered letter , A letter handed to
her, or a letter posted at the job. She told me that yes she did receive 2
registered letters at first but they were only from 2 of the subs out of
approximately 5. My question is this. What exactly has this woman gotten herself
into? I would hate to see her have to pay for this again. I would also hate to
see the subs not get paid. Should she see a lawyer? Can a Designer act as a
contractor? How can people educate themselves to hire a
contractor?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><IMG align=baseline border=0 height=737 id=_x0000_i1025 src="cid:583062513@19082009-2B4E" width=1343></SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></P>
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