§ 48:256.5 — Claimant defined; filing of sworn statements of amounts due; payment by the

Louisiana § 48:256.5

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 48: Roads, Bridges and Ferries

Text

§256.5. Claimant defined; filing of sworn statements of amounts due; payment by the
department
A. "Claimant", as used in this Chapter, means any person to whom money is due
pursuant to a contract with the owner or a contractor or subcontractor for doing work,
performing labor, or furnishing materials or supplies for the construction, alteration, or repair
of any public works, or for transporting and delivering such materials or supplies to the site
of the job by a for-hire carrier, or for furnishing oil, gas, electricity, or other materials or
supplies for use in machines used in the construction, alteration, or repair of any public
works, including persons to whom money is due for the lease or rental of movable property,
used at the site of the immovable and leased to the contractor or subcontractor by written
contract, and including registered or certified surveyors or engineers, or licensed architects,
or their professional subconsultants, employed by the contractor or subcontractor in
connection with the building of any public work.
B. Any claimant shall, after the maturity of his claim and within forty-five days after
the recordation of final acceptance of the work by the department or of notice of default of
the contractor or subcontractor, record the original sworn statement of the amount due him
in the office of the recorder of mortgages for the parish in which the work is done and file
a certified copy of the recorded sworn statement of the amount due, showing the recordation
data, with the undersecretary of the department.
C.(1) To be entitled to assert the claim given by Subsection B of this Section, the
lessor of movables shall deliver a copy of the lease to the department and the contractor, not
more than ten days after the movables are first placed at the site of the immovable for use in
the work.
(2) The claim or privilege granted the lessor of the movables by Subsection B of this
Section is limited to and secures only the part of the rentals accruing during the time the
movable is located at the site of the immovable for use in a work. A movable shall be
deemed not located at the site of the immovable for use in a work after one or more of the
following have occurred:
(a) The work is completed or abandoned.
(b) The notice of final acceptance of the work is filed.
(c) The lessee has abandoned the movable, or use of the movable in a work is
completed or no longer necessary, and the owner or contractor gives written notice to the
lessor of abandonment or completion of use.
D.(1) The department shall withhold from progress payments and the final payment
one hundred twenty-five percent of the amount claimed after receipt by the undersecretary
of the department at the location specified in the recorded contract of a sworn statement of
amount due from a claimant to the extent of payments due and owed the contractor after
receipt of said claim.
(2) When the department makes final payment to the contractor without deducting
such amounts as required in this Subsection of all outstanding claims so served on it or
without obtaining a bond from the contractor to cover the total amount of all outstanding
claims, the department shall become liable for the amount of these claims to the extent of its
failure to withhold funds as required in this Subsection.
E. If an architect or engineer has not been employed by the contractor or
subcontractor, he shall have no claim to or privilege on the funds due the contractor or
subcontractor, nor shall such architect or engineer be within the coverage of the payment and
performance bond required of the contractor by R.S. 38:2241.

Legislative History

Acts 1997, No. 1112, §1, eff. July 14, 1997; Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 126, §2, eff. May 5, 1998; Acts 1999, No. 609, §1, eff. June 30, 1999; Acts 2015, No. 29, §1, eff. May 29, 2015.