First, I am not an attorney and am not qualified to give or charge for legal advice. That being said...
Forget about liens. They are difficult to file, easy to remove, and almost impossible to collect unless the Cable/Phone Company or Prime sell their business, if then.
Advice: Try calling the Prime's client and bellyaching. Don't cuss or yell but be persistent and whiney and don't take no for an answer and don't let them blow you off. Demand satisfaction immediately but be always firm and polite in your manner of speaking. Keep going higher up and higher up. The sound of a whiney person is like fingernails on a chalkboard and the higher up the individual, the more likely that individual will give you what you want because they are not used to hearing the whining and will do almost anything to make it stop. Failing that and it probably will...
Do a Judge Judy on them. Sue the Prime or the Cable/Phone Company. You can try filing a lawsuit in small claims if the amount is small, say $5000. Every State is different and in some you can go as high as $10,000. First, send a certified letter return receipt, to the Prime or Cable/Phone Company demanding payment and give at least 30 days to pay or you will sue. No vitriolics in the letter, just the facts about the debt only. Once the 30 days is up, go ahead and file the suit in small claims or civil court where the work took place or in the county where they have an office. The clerks at the court can be helpful with the processing but sometimes they are not. Be sure to tell the clerks that this is just a suit to collect a bill. Cost of filing and serving is usually pretty cheap, less than $100. If Cable/Phone Company or the Prime is a corporation, you may have to call the Secretary of State in whatever state Cable/Phone Company or the Prime is based out of or where the work occurred to see if Cable/Phone Company or the Prime has an agent of service, or someone designated to receive a court summons. Most corporations are required to have one in each State they do business and service of the suit won't be valid unless you serve it to that agent. If Cable/Phone Company or the Prime is a sole proprietor, you can just serve their place of business.
Overall, suing for an Invoice is called a suit on account and is usually easy to win and if the Defendant does not show up, and many times they don't, easy to get a judgment which can be enforced. Enforcement can be a problem if Cable/Phone Company or the Prime has no assets.
If you do go to small claims court, it is best to have witnesses, such as your employees or subs show up to verify that work was done and show the contract you had with the Cable/Phone Company or the Prime along with the invoice. And when you speak, just be yourself. Don’t try to sound like Cicero or use Legalistic language you’ve heard on TV. And no need to dress up in the suit you wear to church or funerals. Just your regular clothes are fine. You might have to explain your business to the Judge since they will likely know nothing about it.
If the amount is over 5 or 10K, then you should consult an attorney. The attorney will want a sizable chunk of the settlement but your share will be more than what you are getting now.
If the amount is not really substantial, and only you can be the judge of that, you should consider blowing the whole thing off. Lawsuits may burn bridges you might want to cross later.
Re: leins
Member #: 22668
Registered: 3/29/2003
Posted:
107
Name:
Frank Anderson
Name:
Frank Anderson
Company:
Innovative Marketing Systems
Occupation:
CFO
Location:
Dallas, TX
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