Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
contract documents if the employer has failed
to pay fees owing?
Lien is the right to hold property until some obligation has been discharged. It is usually en-
countered in connection with debt. If I take my car into the garage for a repair, the garage
owner has the right to keep hold of my car until I pay the cost of the repair. An architect has
the right to keep drawings prepared for a client until the client has paid the architect's fees
owing.
Lien falls under various types. The examples above fall under the category of special or
particularlien,andtheyarethemostcommonlyencountered.Thereisalsogenerallien,pos-
sessory lien, equitable lien and contractual lien. In general terms, if an employer owes fees
to an architect, the architect is entitled to retain possession of goods and documents which
belong to the employer until the fees are paid. The signed contract documents undoubtedly
(as between the employer and the architect) belong to the employer, but an architect owed
fees by the employer could retain the contract documents until paid. If the employer ur-
gently needs thedocuments butisnotprepared topaythearchitect fees forsome reason, the
Civil Procedure Rules allow the claimant to retrieve the documents on payment into court
oftheamountclaimed bythearchitect, thatsumtoawaitthedetermination ofthearchitect's
claim.
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