Construction Lien Claim - Michigan

CLAIM OF LIEN — MICHIGAN CONSTRUCTION LIEN ACT

Critical Use Warning

MCL 570.1111 supplies the statutory Claim of Lien form and requires recording within 90 days after the claimant's last furnishing under its contract. A contractor, subcontractor, supplier, or laborer may have a construction lien under MCL 570.1107, but eligibility, amount, affected property interest, notice compliance, and residential-contract requirements must be analyzed before recording.

This document is not a Notice of Furnishing, sworn statement, lien waiver, discharge, foreclosure complaint, or lis pendens. Do not add interest, fees, penalties, consequential damages, or unrelated contract claims to the recorded lien amount unless Michigan counsel confirms they are lienable under the current Act and the controlling contract.

PART 1 — COUNSEL ELIGIBILITY AND DEADLINE WORKSHEET

A. Claimant Classification

B. Property and Contracting Interest

• ☐ Counsel confirmed that Claimant provided an improvement within a claimant class covered by MCL 570.1107.
• ☐ Counsel identified the owner, lessee, co-owner, mortgage, land-contract, leasehold, or improvement interest against which a lien may attach.
• ☐ The claimed amount does not exceed Claimant's contract amount less payments, subject to the Act's aggregate limits and any residential-interest limitation in MCL 570.1107.
• ☐ If Claimant is the contractor on a residential structure, the improvement was provided under a written owner/lessee contract, all amendments or additions were written, and the contract contains the statements required by MCL 570.1114.

C. Notice of Commencement and Furnishing

• ☐ The nonresidential Notice of Commencement rules in MCL 570.1108 or the residential rules in MCL 570.1108a were correctly selected.
• ☐ Claimant obtained the Notice of Commencement or documented the request, response, nonresponse, extension, and recipient consequences under the applicable section.
• ☐ A subcontractor or supplier required to give a Notice of Furnishing served the designee and general contractor personally or by certified mail within 20 days after first furnishing under MCL 570.1109(1), subject to any applicable statutory extension.
• ☐ A laborer used the distinct unpaid-wage or fringe-benefit notice deadline, recipients, and delivery method in MCL 570.1109(2) or (3).
• ☐ A contractor with a direct owner/lessee contract correctly applied the MCL 570.1109(1) exemption from the Notice of Furnishing requirement.
• ☐ Any late Notice of Furnishing consequence was calculated under MCL 570.1109(5)-(9); the file does not assume that every late notice destroys every portion of every claimant's lien.

D. Sworn Statement and Waivers

• ☐ Claimant reviewed every sworn statement, payment, waiver, credit, offset, and retainage record affecting the amount.
• ☐ If Claimant is a contractor, the sworn statement required before enforcement under MCL 570.1110(9) has been or will be provided.
• ☐ If Claimant is a subcontractor from whom the owner or lessee properly demanded a sworn statement, the enforcement gate in MCL 570.1110(10) has been reviewed.
• ☐ No conditional or unconditional waiver under MCL 570.1115 already defeats or reduces the amount claimed.

PART 2 — STATUTORY CLAIM OF LIEN

Recording Information

CLAIM OF LIEN

Notice is hereby given that on the [____] day of [________________], [________],

[CLAIMANT NAME]

[CLAIMANT ADDRESS]

first provided labor or material for an improvement to:

[LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF REAL PROPERTY FROM THE NOTICE OF COMMENCEMENT]

The ☐ owner ☐ lessee of the property is:

[NAME OF OWNER OR LESSEE FROM THE NOTICE OF COMMENCEMENT]

The last day of providing the labor or material was the [____] day of [________________], [________].

Complete for a Contractor, Subcontractor, or Supplier

The lien claimant's contract amount, including extras, is $[________________]. The lien claimant has received payment on the contract in the total amount of $[________________], and therefore claims a construction lien on the above-described real property in the amount of $[________________].

Complete for a Laborer

The lien claimant's hourly rate, including fringe benefits and withholdings, is $[________________]. There is due and owing to or on behalf of the laborer $[________________], for which the laborer claims a construction lien on the above-described real property.

Claimant Execution

Claimant: [________________________________]

By: ________________________________________

Signature of lien claimant, agent, or attorney

Printed name and capacity: [________________________________]

Address of party signing: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

Verification

State of Michigan

County of [________________________________]

Subscribed and sworn to before me on [__/__/____] by [________________________________].

Notary signature: ________________________________________

Printed name: [________________________________]

Notary public, State of Michigan, County of [________________________________]

My commission expires: [__/__/____]

Acting in the County of: [________________________________]

Required Attachment Gate

• ☐ Claimant is a subcontractor, supplier, or laborer, and proof of service of the Notice of Furnishing is attached as required by MCL 570.1111(4).
• ☐ Claimant is not in a class required by MCL 570.1111(4) to attach that proof.
• ☐ Counsel has reviewed any excuse, extension, late notice, multiple laborer, assignment, or professional-services issue.

PART 3 — RECORDING AND SERVICE RECORD

Recording

MCL 570.1111(1) requires recording in the office of the Register of Deeds for each county where the improved property is located within 90 days after Claimant's last furnishing under its contract.

Post-Recording Service

Within 15 days after recording, MCL 570.1111(5) requires Claimant to serve the designee personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested, at the Notice of Commencement address. If no designee was named or the designee died, service is made on the owner or lessee named in that notice. Certified-mail service is complete on mailing.

The served package must include a copy of the Claim of Lien and a copy of any proof of service recorded with it. Proof of this post-recording service must be attached to a later complaint, cross-claim, or counterclaim enforcing the lien.

PART 4 — ENFORCEMENT, PRIORITY, WAIVER, AND BOND CHECKLIST

Foreclosure

• ☐ One-year deadline calculated from the date the Claim of Lien was recorded, under MCL 570.1117(1): [__/__/____].
• ☐ The foreclosure complaint will be filed in the circuit court for a county where the property lies, as required by MCL 570.1118(1).
• ☐ At commencement of foreclosure, a notice of lis pendens will be recorded in the Register of Deeds office for the county where the property lies, under MCL 570.1117(2).
• ☐ Every person whose property interest would be divested or impaired at filing will be joined as required by MCL 570.1117(4).
• ☐ Any contractor or subcontractor complaint will plead the sworn-statement fact required by MCL 570.1117(7).
• ☐ Attorney-fee expectations are limited to MCL 570.1118(2): a prevailing claimant's reasonable fees are discretionary, and a prevailing defendant's fees require a vexatious lien-enforcement action.

Priority

MCL 570.1119—not MCL 570.1107 alone—governs priority. Ordinary construction liens generally arise at the first actual physical improvement; professional-services notices have separate rules. Earlier recorded interests generally have priority, while later mortgage advances require the statutory sworn-statement, disbursement, notice, and waiver analysis. Do not state a priority conclusion without a title search and counsel review.

Waiver and Discharge

• ☐ On full payment, Claimant will provide the full unconditional waiver required by MCL 570.1115(2), using substantially the statutory format.
• ☐ On partial payment, any requested partial unconditional waiver will be limited to the amount actually received under MCL 570.1115(3).
• ☐ A conditional waiver will become effective only on payment of the amount indicated, under MCL 570.1115(4).
• ☐ Any bond discharge will follow MCL 570.1116: filing with the proper county clerk, Claimant as obligee, a penal sum of twice the recorded lien amount, claimant notice and surety-objection process, clerk approval and certificate, and recording of that certificate. There is no statutory 125% discharge bond in this section.

PART 5 — FILE CHECKLIST

• ☐ Signed contract and written amendments
• ☐ Licensing and required residential-contract statements, if applicable
• ☐ Notice of Commencement or documented request and response
• ☐ Notice of Furnishing and proof of service, if applicable
• ☐ Sworn statements
• ☐ Invoices, delivery records, time records, change orders, and payment ledger
• ☐ All conditional and unconditional waivers
• ☐ Title search and property-interest review
• ☐ Recorded Claim of Lien
• ☐ Proof of post-recording statutory service
• ☐ Foreclosure and lis-pendens deadline calendar
• ☐ Payment, discharge, or bond updates

Sources and References

• MCL 570.1107 — Construction lien generally
• MCL 570.1108 — Nonresidential Notice of Commencement
• MCL 570.1108a — Residential Notice of Commencement
• MCL 570.1109 — Notice of Furnishing
• MCL 570.1110 — Sworn statements
• MCL 570.1111 — Claim of Lien
• MCL 570.1114 — Residential contractor written-contract requirements
• MCL 570.1115 — Construction-lien waivers
• MCL 570.1116 — Discharge bond
• MCL 570.1117 — Foreclosure deadline and lis pendens
• MCL 570.1118 — Foreclosure forum and attorney fees
• MCL 570.1119 — Priority