September 2020 - Wyman Legal Solutions

Month: September 2020

Business Lawyer on Retainer

Posted on by Andrew Wyman

Designed for businesses of all sizes, our “Business Lawyer on Retainer” access plan helps you get the advice and counseling your business needs, when you need it, for as little as $10 per day. That’s the price of two cups of (Grande Salted Caramel Mocha Frappuccino) coffee!

For a low, flat monthly or annual fee you can have the peace of mind of knowing that you have access to a trusted lawyer when you need one without having to worry about unpredictable billing. Highlights of our Business Lawyer on Retainer access plan include:

Unlimited emails on two (2) unique issues per month.

Up to two (2) scheduled phone calls per month with an attorney (30 minutes each).

Review of contracts prepared by others with a conversation to discuss important points (up to 5 pages — each additional page is $39).

Complimentary registered agent services.

One (1) annual review of your company’s critical business operations to identify any potential areas of concern or improvement.

20% discount on fees for all other services performed by the Firm.

All businesses have legal needs. Some more than others. Successful businesses address these needs before they turn into expensive problems. Wouldn’t it be great if you had a trusted lawyer you could turn to for legal advice and to help you through legal uncertainties in your moment of need?

And wouldn’t it be even better if you could get the timely advice you need without being “on the clock”? After all, it’s hard to pick up the phone to get timely advice when you are not really sure what that advice is going to cost you.

The plan is available for individuals as well.

 

Want to learn more about our Business Lawyer on Retainer access plan? Email Andy at andy@WymanLegalSolutions.com andy@WymanLegalSolutions.com  or call us at (561) 361-8700!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ask Andy: Construction Liens

Posted on by Andrew Wyman

Question (asked by a fellow attorney “Rob”): Hi Andy. I have a client with a small dispute with a contractor. The contractor recorded a lien but it is improper because it was definitely recorded more than 90 days after work was completed, and the pricing on the lien is heavily inflated (could be fraudulent). Best path is to just file a Notice of Contest of Lien, right? Then put the ball in the contractor’s court? Thanks in advance for any thoughts you can share.

Answer: Rob, your client has 4 choices. Three of them require your client to either spend money and/or be prepared to litigate.

First choice: Do nothing and see if the contractor files a suit within the one year time frame. If contractor fails to file suit timely then lien goes away automatically. This costs your client nothing but keeps a lien on their property for at least a year and potentially longer if suit is filed. Contractor would have to serve your client with a Contractor’s Final Affidavit at least 5 days before filing suit.

Second: Record the Notice of Contest of Lien. Contractor would then have 60 days to get that suit filed. This of course invites a lawsuit so they’d need to be ready to pay for and engage in litigation. If the suit is not filed within the 60 days then the lien is extinguished automatically. Contractor would have to serve your client with a Contractor’s Final Affidavit at least 5 days before filing suit.

Third: Your client can file a lawsuit under Fla. Stat. §713.21(4). This lawsuit requires the contractor to show cause why the lien should not either be enforced or vacated and cancelled of record. Basically the contractor would have to countersue your client to enforce the lien within 20 days of service of this lawsuit on them. Their failure to do so eliminates their lien. Contractor would have to serve your client with a Contractor’s Final Affidavit at least 5 days before filing suit. This is the most aggressive position to take and requires your client to also fund litigation. But it also requires the contractor to hire an attorney and pay for litigation as well.

Fourth: Post a lien transfer bond with the court to transfer the lien from the property to the bond. This gets the lien off the property but requires your client to come out of pocket with potentially a lot more money than they’ll want to. But if there is no compelling reason to remove the lien from the property then this is not a great idea.

A lot of contractors file a lien and intend to do nothing about it, especially if they don’t seem to know exactly what they are doing (and especially if it looks like the lien was not professionally prepared). In those instances the 3rd method is the most effective way to get the lien off the property most quickly.

Do you have a question you want to see answered in one of our emails? Send me an email to andy@wymanlegalsolutions.com.