Colorado Law

Summary of Colorado Well Lien Law

2010-12-08T13:36:00.000-08:00

COLORADO ONLY
The rights of a well lien holder are in addition those of a mechanic's lien. While a mechanic's lien attaches to real estate, a well lien attaches to the well, any related improvements and materials and equipment belonging to the well owner which were supplied by the lienholder. The well lien can attach to the real estate if the owner was in partnership with the lessee. Any income participation of the owner in the well may justify the use of a mechanic's lien in addition to a well lien to allow the lien holder to pursue foreclosure on the real property as additional leverage to collect your money.

Laborers have priority liens among well lien holders. All other lien holders have equal priority although language in other parts of the law indicate that priority would be based on when you supplied labor, materials or equipment. Keep good records of when you provide services and the quantity and value of those services. Always make certain to keep records of the location where you provide services. Unrecorded personal property interests and unrecorded purchase money mortgages will have a lower priority over well liens.

Lien statement requirements are more vague and deadlines are less stringent than for mechanic's liens. Beware that if you want to claim a mechanic's lien against the property owner you will still need to comply with the requirement of the mechanic's lien law.

Within 6 months of completion of your work or supplying your last materials or last equipment you must record a lien statement with the clerk and recorder in the county where the well is located and in the county where the equipment and material is located if it is in a different county than the well. The lien will relate back to the first labor, material or equipment supplied. Unlike mechanic's liens, laborers do not have the luxury of a deadline based on completion of the well. Laborers like other lien holders must file within 6 months of when their labor is completed. Unlike mechanic liens, there is no requirement to send a lien to the operator or property owner prior to recording.

The lien statement must contain:

          (a) A just and true account of the amount due him after allowing all
credits;

          (b) A description of the property to be charged with such lien sufficient
for its proper identification; and

          (c) A verification by affidavit.

A lawsuit to collect on the lien must be filed not later than 6 months after the date of recording your lien. If you fail to file a lawsuit on time, you will lose your lien.

Any person who removes property that is subject to a lien after it is recorded is guilty of theft unless they have the written consent of the lien holder. You may record your lien in any county where the property is subsequently moved, but you only have 30 days to record the lien after you received notice of the new location.

Bottom line is that it is best to record your lien as soon as you get notice that the equipment may be moved to a new location. You can give notice to anyone moving the equipment that there is a lien in place and that they may be committing theft by moving the equipment without your written consent. Remember, if your record a fraudulent lien or a lien you know (or should know) is unjustified you can be responsible for attorneys fees of the opposition and other financial penalties.

2010-12-07T08:07:00.001-08:00

Received a complaint from a credit card company

2010-12-07T07:09:00.000-08:00

COLORADO ONLY
You're served a complaint by a credit card company to collect past due amounts. What are your options?

You can do nothing. In that case, a default judgment will be entered against you. The creditor can then garnish your wages or garnish your bank account. If they garnish your bank account, you will lose all the money in your account. They can send you questions (interrogatories) asking where your assets are. If you don't have any income or assets, they can't collect. Some income and assets are exempt (creditors can't get their hands on them). The judgment does last somewhat indefinitely. If you get a job or acquire assets at a later time, they can collect against these assets. You can file for bankruptcy or you can negotiate a payment plan.

You can answer. In your answer, you can deny any or all of the allegations they made in their complaint. If they can't prove the allegations, then their complaint will be dismissed and they will not be able to collect anything from you. The judge or jury could decide to give them a judgment for less than the full amount.
You can deny that you owe the amount claimed. You can deny that written agreement was accepted by you. You can defend by stating that the claim has expired because its too old (statute of limitations has run). You can say that you are not the person named on the credit card. This is not an exhaustive list of possible answers.

By answering, you force them to prove their case at trial. This will at the very least buy you time. During that time you could file for bankruptcy or negotiate a payment plan. They don't want to spend the time needed to get ready for trial and travel to court (if they're out of town).

Many credit card agreements have an attorneys fee clause. This will allow them to add their attorneys fees to the judgment. If you answer and force them to go to court, it will increase their attorney fees. Delaying payment will also add to the interest that you owe them. If you don't have any reasonable basis to deny their claims, don't waste your time.

If you're not certain, talk it over with a lawyer. Many lawyers will be willing to meet with you and give you their opinion for a reasonable consult fee. Hiring a lawyer to represent you in court can be expensive. If the amount in dispute is large, this expense may be worthwhile.