Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1118 – Disputes; penalties; attorney’s fees
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1. Withholding payment. Nothing in this chapter prevents an owner, contractor or subcontractor from withholding payment in whole or in part under a construction contract in an amount equalling the value of any good faith claims against an invoicing contractor, subcontractor or material supplier, including claims arising from unsatisfactory job progress, defective construction or materials, disputed work or 3rd-party claims.
[PL 1993, c. 461, §1 (NEW).]
Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1118
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Contractor: means a person or entity that contracts with an owner to perform work on real property. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1111
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- Material supplier: means any person or entity that has furnished or contracted to furnish materials or supplies in connection with a construction contract. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1111
- Month: means a calendar month. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 1 Sec. 72
- Owner: includes successors in interest of the owner and agents of the owner acting within their authority. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1111
- Subcontractor: means any person or entity that has contracted to perform work for or provide services to a contractor or another subcontractor in connection with a construction contract. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1111
- Work: means to build, alter, repair or demolish any improvement on, connected with or beneath the surface of any real property, or to excavate, clear, grade, fill or landscape any real property, to construct driveways, private roadways, highways and bridges, drilled wells, septic systems, sewage systems or utilities, to furnish materials for any of those purposes or to perform labor upon real property. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 10 Sec. 1111
2. Penalty. If arbitration or litigation is commenced to recover payment due under the terms of this chapter and it is determined that an owner, contractor or subcontractor has failed to comply with the payment terms of this chapter, the arbitrator or court shall award an amount equal to 1% per month of all sums for which payment has wrongfully been withheld, in addition to all other damages due and as a penalty.
[PL 1993, c. 461, §1 (NEW).]
3. Wrongful withholding. A payment is not deemed to be wrongfully withheld if it bears a reasonable relation to the value of any claim held in good faith by the owner, contractor or subcontractor against which an invoicing contractor, subcontractor or material supplier is seeking to recover payment.
[PL 1993, c. 461, §1 (NEW).]
4. Attorney’s fees. Notwithstanding any contrary agreement, the substantially prevailing party in any proceeding to recover any payment within the scope of this chapter must be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees in an amount to be determined by the court or arbitrator, together with expenses.
[PL 1993, c. 461, §1 (NEW).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1993, c. 461, §1 (NEW).