Delaware Mechanics Liens & The Statement of Claim
In a previous article about mechanics liens in Delaware, I wrote about the time period within which a statement of claim must be filed. This article will address the information your Delaware business attorney must have in order to prepare the statement of claim.
The statement of claim has to include the following information:
(1) The correct legal name of the person or company entitled to the mechanics lien;
(2) The name of the owner of the structure you want to have your lien against;
(3) You must include the name of the contractor, and you must state whether your contract was with the owner of the structure you named in item (2) or with the contractor;
(4) You must state the dollar amount of your claim. If this amount is determined by a contract, then a copy of the contract together with all modifications or amendments must be attached to the statement of claim. If the amount is not fixed by a contract, you must describe in a Bill of particulars the nature and kind of the labor done or materials furnished or construction management services provided;
(5) The time when the doing of the labor or the furnishing of the materials was commenced;
(6) The time when the doing of the labor or the furnishing of the material or the providing of the construction management services was finished. In this regard if you are a contractor (as opposed to a subcontractor or a supplier) the date of the completion of the structure, including a specification of the act or event upon which you are relying for the date of completion. On the other hand, if you are a subcontractor or a supplier, the date of completion of the labor performed or of the last delivery of materials furnished, or both, as the case may be, or a specification of such other act or event upon which you are relying for such date;
(7) The location of the structure along with a legal description of the property that the structure sits on;
(8) That the labor was done or the materials were furnished or the construction management services were provided on the credit of the structure;
(9) The amount of your claim and that neither this amount nor any part thereof has been paid to you;
(10) The time of recording of a first mortgage, or a conveyance in the nature of a first mortgage, upon such structure which is granted to secure an existing indebtedness or future advances provided at least 50% of the loan proceeds are used for the payment of labor or materials, or both, for such structure.
You are required to attach to the statement of claim a sworn affidavit that the facts set forth in the statement of claim are true and correct.
If you’re filing a claim for labor or materials against 2 or more structures that are owned by the same person, you must include a statement of how much you are claiming is owed to you on each structure.
If the contract is with a tenant rather than the owner of the structure, your statement of claim must include a statement that the owner gave his written consent to the furnishing of the work or the materials.
The courts in Delaware require absolute compliance with the information that must be included in the statement of claim. If something is omitted, you run the risk of having your claim dismissed.
