Title 38. Public Contracts, Works and Improvements

Chapter 10. Public Contracts

Part III. Claims of Subcontractors, Materialmen, and Laborers on Public Works

38:2242      Claimant defined; filing of sworn statements of amounts due; payment by contracting authority

A. “Claimant”, as used in this Chapter, means any person to whom money is due pursuant to a contract with the owner or a contractor or subcontractor for doing work, performing labor, or furnishing materials or supplies for the construction, alteration, or repair of any public works, or for transporting and delivering such materials or supplies to the site of the job by a for-hire carrier, or for furnishing oil, gas, electricity, or other materials or supplies for use in machines used in the construction, alteration, or repair of any public works, including persons to whom money is due for the lease or rental of movable property used at the site of the immovable and leased to the owner, contractor, or subcontractor by written contract, and including registered or certified surveyors or engineers or consulting engineers, or licensed architects, or their professional subconsultants employed by the owner or by the contractor or subcontractor in connection with the building of any public work.

B. Any claimant may after the maturity of his claim and within forty-five days after the recordation of acceptance of the work by the governing authority or of notice of default of the contractor or subcontractor, file a sworn statement of the amount due him with the governing authority having the work done and record it in the office of the recorder of mortgages for the parish in which the work is done.

C. (1) To be entitled to assert the claim given by Subsection B of this Section the lessor of the movables shall deliver a copy of the lease to the owner not more than ten days after the movables are first placed at the site of the immovable for use in the work.

(2) The claim or privilege granted the lessor of the movables by Subsection B of this Section is limited to and secures only the part of the rentals accruing during the time the movable is located at the site of the immovable for use in a work. A movable shall be deemed not located at the site of the immovable for use in a work after:

(a) The work is substantially completed or abandoned; or

(b) The notice of termination of the work is filed; or

(c) The lessee has abandoned the movable, or use of the movable in a work is completed or no longer necessary, and the owner or contractor gives written notice to the lessor of abandonment or completion of use.

D. When an awarding authority makes final payment to the contractor without deducting the total amount of all outstanding claims so served on it or without obtaining a bond from the contractor to cover the total amount of all outstanding claims, the awarding authority shall become liable for the amount of these claims.

E. If an architect or engineer has not been employed by the contractor or subcontractor, he shall have no claim to or privilege on the funds due the contractor or subcontractor, nor shall such architect or engineer be within the coverage of the payment and performance bond required of the contractor by R.S. 38:2241.

F. In addition to the other provisions of this Section, if the materialman has not been paid by the subcontractor and has not sent notice of nonpayment to the general contractor and the owner, then the materialman shall lose his right to file a privilege or lien on the immovable property. The return receipt indicating that certified mail was properly addressed to the last known address of the general contractor and the owner and deposited in the U.S. mail on or before seventy-five days from the last day of the month in which the material was delivered, regardless of whether the certified mail was actually delivered, refused, or unclaimed satisfies the notice provision hereof or no later than the statutory lien period, whichever comes first. The provisions of this Subsection shall apply only to disputes arising out of recorded contracts.

Amended by Acts 1960, No. 59, § 1; Acts 1966, No. 537, § 1; Acts 1977, No. 253, § 1; Acts 1979, No. 406, § 2; Acts 1984, No. 703, § 1; Acts 1985, No. 244, § 1; Acts 1986, No. 158, § 1; Acts 1986, No. 195, § 1, eff. June 28, 1986; Acts 1989, No. 305, § 1; Acts 1990, No. 913, § 1; Acts 1990, No. 984, § 1; Acts 1999, No. 1134, § 2; Acts 2004, No. 440, § 1