The general contractor filed a lawsuit pursuant to 713.21, Florida Statutes, to discharge two construction liens recorded by a subcontractor. When the subcontractor filed a motion for extension of time to respond to the complaint, as opposed to a lawsuit to foreclose, the court discharged the construction liens.
Florida’s construction lien law has several ways that a construction lien can be removed from a property. One of them is a lawsuit to discharge a construction lien, pursuant to 713.21, Florida Statutes, which requires the lienor to take action to enforce its liens within 20 days of service of the lawsuit to discharge, or a showing of good cause why a lawsuit should not be filed during that same time period. In Van Selow Design Build v. AAASCO, a general contractor filed a lawsuit to discharge two liens recorded by a subcontractor.
Instead of taking action to enforce the liens within 20 days, the subcontractor filed a motion for extension of time to respond to the complaint. Subsequently, the contractor moved for an order discharging the liens for failure to timely respond. Florida’s Sixth Judicial Circuit Court granted the order and discharged both liens, finding that no action to enforce the liens had been taken and that the motion for extension of time did not constitute good cause for why an action to enforce the liens had not been filed.
The key takeaway for this case for contractors is to pay attention to the deadlines and timelines that govern construction liens, and to the requirements listed in Florida’s construction lien law. Failure to strictly comply with these requirements can be fatal to lien rights in many circumstances.