Jim R. wrote:
[contractor who claims he's owed money on work done on house]
Here's the kicker I thought of in my own devious mind - since the client is
an affluent, high profile guy, I was considering informing him that we do
publish the names of the properties and owners that we hold liens against on
our website.
Legal? After all, It is a public record, but then again I don't want to give
him grounds for a countersuit.
Do you now publish such information on your Web site? If you do, then I
see no problem in publishing the fact of this lien if you do file it,
but I am a bit leery about the threat. It borders on extortion. A
definition of extortion is getting someone to pay you money by use of
threat. The existence of a debt does not absolve you.
Now you can say if you are regularly publishing those you have liens
against that you are merely informing him and you have some defense to
the extortion charge, but if you are starting with him, then I think you
are a bit close to the line. My advice is you are too close so don't do
it. Others here may disagree. You also will surely ruin your amicable
relationship.
Besides a lien, which I know may not be much good because you need to
pay off all those ahead of you to grab the house, you can go to small
claims court and get a judgement. Such an instrument will allow you to
grab other assets he has even to the point of garnishing his wages. So a
judgement may work better for you anyway.
As a general advice, stay far away from threats. The generally don't
work and can backfire big time.
-paul
ianal
