§ 18 — Duration of lien under contract for a public improvement

§ 18. Duration of lien under contract for a public improvement. If the\nlien is for labor done or materials furnished for a public improvement,\nit shall not continue for a longer period than one year from the time of\nfiling the notice of such lien, unless an action is commenced to\nforeclose such lien within that time, and a notice of the pendency of\nsuch action is filed with the comptroller of the state or the financial\nofficer of the public corporation with whom the notice of such lien was\nfiled; or unless an extension to such lien is filed with the comptroller\nof the state or the financial officer of the public corporation with\nwhom the notice of such lien was filed within one year from the filing\nof the original notice of lien, continuing such lien and such lien shall\nbe redocketed as of the date of filing such extension. Such extension\nshall contain the names of the lienor and the contractor or\nsubcontractor for whom the labor was performed or materials furnished, a\ndescription of the public improvement upon which the labor was performed\nand materials expended, the amount of such lien, and the date of the\nfiling of the notice of lien. No lien shall be continued by such\nextension for more than one year from the filing thereof. In the event\nan action is not commenced to foreclose the lien within such extended\nperiod, such lien shall be extinguished unless an order be granted by a\ncourt of record or a judge or justice thereof, continuing such lien, and\na new docket be made stating such fact. No lien shall be continued by\nsuch order for more than one year from the granting thereof, but a new\norder and entry may be made in each of two successive years. If a lienor\nbe made a party defendant in an action to enforce another lien, and the\nplaintiff or such defendant has filed a notice of the pendency of the\naction within the time prescribed in this section, the lien of such\ndefendant is thereby continued. The provision of this section in regard\nto continuing liens shall apply to liens discharged by deposit or by\norder on the filing of an undertaking. This section is hereby declared\nto be a remedial statute and is to be construed liberally to secure the\nbeneficial interests and purposes thereof.\n