Rhode Island Court Invalidates Lien Law
In a case that is being appealed to the Rhode Island Appellate
Court, a Superior Court judge ruled that the Rhode Island Lien
law did not provide the procedural due process rights required
by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United Sates Constitution and
the Rhode Island Constitution. As reported by Terence J. Burke,
of Cooper Erving Savage Nolan & Heller of Albany, the case
of Sells/Greene Building Company LLC and Gem Plumbing and Heating
Co. v. Robert V. Rossi and Linda A. Rossi was a victory for
the Rossis, on whose property the lien had been filed. The Rossis
argued that the statute permits any person who claims to perform
work or provide materials in construction to place a lien on the
property without any hearing to determine the validity of the
alleged claim. Mr. Burke cautioned in Hard Hat News in
February that if this idea were held up in New York, the rights
of lien holders would be jeopardized during the delay caused by
the hearing process as a result of the caseload in the courts.
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