(a) The acceptance by the lienor of a note or notes for all or any part of the amount of the lienor’s claim shall not constitute a waiver of the lienor’s lien, unless expressly so agreed in writing, nor shall it in any way affect the period for serving or recording the notice of lien under this chapter.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 66-11-124

  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Contract: means an agreement for improving real property, written or unwritten, express or implied, and includes extras as defined in this section. See Tennessee Code 66-11-101
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Contract price: means the amount agreed upon by the contracting parties to be paid for performing work or labor or for furnishing materials, machinery, equipment, services, overhead and profit, included in the contract, increased or diminished by the price of extras or breach of contract, including defects in workmanship or materials. See Tennessee Code 66-11-101
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Furnish materials: means :
    (i) To supply materials that are intended to be and are incorporated in the improvement. See Tennessee Code 66-11-101
  • Improvement: means the result of any action or any activity in furtherance of constructing, erecting, altering, repairing, demolishing, removing, or furnishing materials or labor for any building, structure, appurtenance to the building or structure, fixture, bridge, driveway, private roadway, sidewalk, walkway, wharf, sewer, utility, watering system, or other similar enhancement, or any part thereof, on, connected with, or beneath the surface. See Tennessee Code 66-11-101
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Lienor: means any person having a lien or right of lien on real property by virtue of this chapter, and includes the person's successor in interest. See Tennessee Code 66-11-101
  • Owner: includes the owner in fee of real property, or of a less estate in real property, a lessee for a term of years, a vendee in possession under a contract for the purchase of real property, and any person having any right, title or interest, legal or equitable, in real property, that may be sold under process. See Tennessee Code 66-11-101
  • Perform: when used in connection with the words labor or services, means performance by the lienor or by another for the lienor. See Tennessee Code 66-11-101
  • Person: means an individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership, sole proprietorship, joint venture, association, trust, estate, or other legal or commercial entity. See Tennessee Code 66-11-101
  • Prime contractor: means a person, including a land surveyor as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 66-11-101
  • Remote contractor: means a person, including a land surveyor as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 66-11-101
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b)

(1) Any contract provision that purports to waive any right of lien under this chapter is void and unenforceable as against the public policy of this state.
(2)

(A) If a prime contractor or remote contractor solicits any person to sign a contract requiring the person to waive a right of lien in violation of this section, then the person shall notify the state board for licensing contractors of that fact. Upon receiving the information, the executive director of the board shall notify the prime contractor or remote contractor within a reasonable time after receiving the information that the contract is against the public policy of this state and in violation of this section. If the prime contractor or remote contractor voluntarily deletes the waiver of lien provision from the contract and affirmatively states that the language will not be included in any future contracts to perform construction work in this state, then no further action shall be taken by the board against the prime contractor or remote contractor unless a later complaint is filed against the prime contractor or remote contractor for a violation of this section.
(B) If the prime contractor or remote contractor does not delete the waiver of lien provision from the contract, then the executive director shall schedule a hearing for appropriate action by the board. If the board finds after a hearing that the contracts of the prime contractor or remote contractor are in violation of this section, then the board shall immediately revoke the prime contractor’s or remote contractor’s license.
(C) The board shall send notice of the revocation to the prime contractor’s or remote contractor’s licensing authority in all states in which the prime contractor or remote contractor is licensed as a contractor.
(D) In any action for damages based on the waiver of a right of lien filed by a person solicited by the prime contractor or remote contractor, the person has the right to recover from the prime contractor or remote contractor reasonable attorney’s fees and costs in connection with the enforcement of the lien.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, no liens by remote contractors are allowed under this chapter if, prior to any work or labor being provided or materials, services, equipment, or machinery furnished in furtherance of the improvement, the owner, or the owner’s agent, provides a payment bond, equal in amount to one hundred percent (100%) of the prime contractor’s contract price, in favor of the remote contractors who provide work or labor or furnish materials, services, equipment, or machinery in furtherance of the improvement pursuant to a contract. The payment bond shall be executed with sufficient surety by one (1) or more sureties authorized to do business in this state. The bond shall be recorded in the office of the register of deeds of every county where the real property to be improved, or any affected part, lies.
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