Stop-Notice - Montana

VOLUNTARY NOTICE OF PAYMENT CLAIM AND REQUEST FOR PAYMENT CONTROLS

NOT A STATUTORY STOP-PAYMENT NOTICE

The live file path is preserved, but Montana Code Annotated Title 71, chapter 3, part 5 does not create a claimant-enforced private-project “stop notice” that compels an owner, construction lender, or other recipient to withhold money on receipt. The part instead supplies construction-lien rights, preliminary notice and filing procedures, bond substitution for a filed lien, and enforcement rules.

This document is only a payment-claim notice and a request for voluntary payment controls. It does not by itself:

• Require a recipient to withhold, segregate, escrow, or pay funds.
• Create a trust, lien on loan proceeds, injunction right, default, cure period, interest right, fee award, indemnity, or liability cap.
• Replace the statutory notice of right to claim a lien, county filing, owner-copy service, lien filing, or court action.
• Bind a lender, owner, contractor, claimant, or surety unless that party signs a separate agreement.

1. NOTICE INFORMATION

Date: [DATE]

Claimant: [LEGAL NAME / ENTITY TYPE]

Claimant address: [ADDRESS]

Contact: [PHONE / EMAIL]

Recipients:

☐ Contracting owner: [NAME / ADDRESS]

☐ Original contractor: [NAME / ADDRESS]

☐ Construction lender: [NAME / ADDRESS]

☐ Other project stakeholder: [NAME / ADDRESS / ROLE]

Project: [NAME / DESCRIPTION]

Improved real estate: [STREET ADDRESS / LEGAL DESCRIPTION / COUNTY]

Party with whom Claimant contracted: [NAME / ADDRESS]

2. PAYMENT CLAIM

Claimant states that it furnished or will furnish the following services or materials for the Project:

[________________________________]

[________________________________]

If the claim includes materials, Claimant and counsel must apply the special limitations in Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-524. Sections 71-3-523 and 71-3-526 limit a construction lien to the unpaid contract-price amount allowed by Part 5.

Supporting documents attached:

☐ Contract / purchase order

☐ Approved change orders

☐ Invoices and payment applications

☐ Delivery records / time records

☐ Payment ledger and credits

☐ Other: [________________________________]

3. STATUTORY-LIEN STATUS

This status section is informational and does not itself complete any statutory step.

3.1 Notice of Right to Claim Lien

☐ Notice was not required under § 71-3-531(1) because: [EXACT REASON]

☐ Notice was required and was given to the contracting owner on [DATE] by:

☐ Certified mail

☐ Personal delivery with written acknowledgment

County notice filing date / file number: [DETAILS]

Notice or continuation remains unexpired: ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Counsel reviewing

The ordinary notice period is 20 days after first furnishing. The 45-day period applies only when every regulated-lender condition in § 71-3-531(4) is satisfied and the contract is not on an owner-occupied residence.

3.2 Construction Lien

☐ No construction lien has been filed.

☐ A construction lien was filed on [DATE] in [COUNTY] County as document number [NUMBER].

☐ Each owner-of-record copy and the accompanying certification required by § 71-3-534 were completed.

Section 71-3-535 generally requires filing no later than 90 days after final furnishing or the owner's filing of a notice of completion, subject to the section. Section 71-3-562 requires an action under Part 5 within 2 years from lien filing.

4. VOLUNTARY REQUEST

Claimant requests a conference by [DATE] to consider one or more voluntary controls:

☐ A joint check payable to the contractor and Claimant for an agreed amount.

☐ An escrow arrangement documented by all affected parties.

☐ Direct payment to Claimant with written authorization, contract-balance credit, and transaction-current lien releases.

☐ A written payment plan.

☐ A temporary voluntary hold while the parties reconcile the claim.

☐ Other: [________________________________]

Requested amount subject to control: $[____________]

Requested response date: [DATE]

No recipient's silence or acknowledgment of receipt constitutes acceptance. Payment controls affecting contract balances, loan proceeds, title, retainage, priorities, or other claimants require a separate written agreement signed by every affected party.

5. CLAIMANT CERTIFICATION

Claimant certifies that the attached ledger reflects the amount Claimant presently asserts after the credits and payments shown. This certification is not a statutory lien statement under §§ 71-3-535 and 71-3-536.

Signature: _______________________________ Date: [DATE]

Printed name / title: [NAME / TITLE]

6. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT ONLY

The undersigned acknowledges receipt on [DATE]. Receipt does not admit the claim, accept a payment-control request, promise payment, waive a defense, or impose a withholding duty.

Recipient: [NAME / ENTITY]

Signature: _______________________________ Date: [DATE]

Printed name / title: [NAME / TITLE]

7. OPTIONAL VOLUNTARY PAYMENT-CONTROL AGREEMENT

Use this section only after all affected parties and counsel approve the arrangement.

Approved control: [JOINT CHECK / ESCROW / DIRECT PAYMENT / HOLD / OTHER]

Controlled amount: $[____________]

Source of funds and contract-balance treatment: [________________________________]

Disbursement conditions: [________________________________]

Lien notice, lien, waiver, and release documents required: [________________________________]

Treatment of disputed amounts: [________________________________]

Expiration / termination: [________________________________]

No unintended waiver: Except for the express payment and release terms above, the parties preserve their existing claims and defenses. No nonparty is bound.

SIGNATURES TO AGREEMENT

Claimant: [NAME]

Signature: _______________________________ Date: [DATE]

Contractor: [NAME]

Signature: _______________________________ Date: [DATE]

Owner: [NAME]

Signature: _______________________________ Date: [DATE]

Lender / escrow holder, only if affected: [NAME]

Signature: _______________________________ Date: [DATE]

8. BOND AND ARBITRATION NOTES

Sections 71-3-551 through 71-3-553 apply only after a construction lien has been filed. A contracting owner, original contractor, or subcontractor may file the statutory bond with the district-court clerk before foreclosure or within 30 days after service of a foreclosure complaint. The bond equals 1.5 times the lien and substitutes for the real-property lien; it is not a bond to release voluntarily “withheld funds.”

Section 71-3-564 permits parties to agree to arbitrate a construction-lien dispute before or after the lien is created. It does not impose arbitration when the parties have not agreed.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Montana Code Annotated, Title 71, chapter 3, part 5 — Construction Liens
• Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-531
• Mont. Code Ann. §§ 71-3-534 through 71-3-536
• Mont. Code Ann. §§ 71-3-551 through 71-3-553
• Mont. Code Ann. §§ 71-3-562 and 71-3-564