Under the Pennsylvania Mechanic’s Lien Law (MLL), only a “contractor” or “subcontractor” is permitted to file a mechanic’s lien against an owner of property for payment of debts due by the owner to the contractor or by the contractor to any of its subcontractors for labor or materials furnished during a construction project. Generally, the term “subcontractor” is defined as a party in privity of contract, express or implied, with either a contractor or a first-tier subcontractor who furnishes labor, skill or superintendence for, among other things, the erection, construction, alteration or repair of an improvement of real property.
Traditionally, tradesmen such as electrical contractors, sheet metal contractors, mechanical contractors, plumbing contractors and material suppliers have been able to file a mechanic’s lien on an owner’s property when they have not received payment for labor furnished or materials supplied on a project. Now, in a case of first impression in Pennsylvania, an en banc panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court held in Bricklayers of Western Pennsylvania Combined Funds v. Scott’s Development Co ., 212 WL 29299, 41 A.3d 16 (Pa. Super. 2012), that trustees of an employee union benefit fund fall within the definition of a “subcontractor” and can bring claims under the MLL for the payment of contributions due to it by a contractor under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement entered into many years prior to the performance of work on the premises.
