Possible changes to North Carolina’s lien/bond laws are attracting widespread attention. The rub is in the details of the proposed revisions.
Many of the affected parties — contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, title insurers and even construction lawyers — have problems with the existing rules, especially in the wake of the Shearin-Harrelson-Mammoth issues raised in the Bankruptcy Court. The problem is, the issues are different depending on the sector — and some segments of the industry would just as soon keep the status quo.
Trying to mediate the various solutions is the North Carolinas Bar Association’s Construction Law Section. The section, chaired by Nan Hannah of the Raleigh office of Vann & Sheridan, is drafting proposed legislation to change law and seeking input from all the stakeholders.
The drafting subcommittee released a revised draft on February 10 along with an updated executive summary.
“Since we are rapidly approaching our upcoming February 18 council meeting, the decision was made to circulate this latest snapshot,” Hannah says, “To be clear, this is not a final draft, but continues to be a work in progress. However, we are trying to keep all involved as current as is practical ahead of the next week’s meeting. I anticipate that there will be additional ‘tweaks’ in the coming week as the drafters work to address some of their own concerns and those final ‘tweaks’ will most likely be presented to the council at its meeting.”
Industry comments should be directed to the elected members of the council who will lead the discussion and have the decision-making responsibilities. The list of council members is found Here.
The latest draft proposals Here. Executive summary explaining the recent revisions Here.