Quickest Way to Remove "Fraudulent" Mechanics Lien?
I'm hoping some of you experts in the community can share an answer or idea which may expedite the process of getting a mechanics lien removed.
We used a company to renovate on of our properties and it turns out that they weren't licensed as they claimed (no need to point out that we should have checked first, we know). We ended up in a dispute over the work done, plus inflated invoices. I'll spare you the long details, but while we made mistakes in the process, the company is blatantly attempting to scam us. When we refused to pay their grossly inflated invoice for work that wasn't done, done properly, or completed, they threatened to file a lien. We attempted to work it out and pay the original agreed upon amount, but they refused to budge.
They filed a mechanics lien, which is now holding up a closing with our new buyer. The lien is fraudulent and inflated, plus they aren't properly licensed. We filed a complaint with DBPR and it also looks like they will be charged criminally with fraud, plus licensing charges, plus filing a fraudulent lien. HOWEVER, we still have our buyers waiting to close and we have to get the lien removed.
By law (we are in Florida), they have 20 days from the time we contest the lien to file suit. We contested the lien, but it took a couple weeks to even get them served with the notice, as they had the wrong physical address on their corporate docs.
Can anyone tell me if there is a faster way to resolve this issue, considering the large amount of evidence we have showing that it's completely bogus? Has anyone dealt with a similar issue and been able to get in front of a judge quickly? We are trying to avoid bonding around the lien if we can find a quicker way. The company wasn't open to negotiating the lien either, so that doesn't appear to be an option.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. By the way - the companies name is "Royal Investment Group" and the owners name is Wille Farah, for those of you who may be in the Orlando area and want to know who to avoid. A quick google search reveals a history of scams and deceptive business practices. Wish we would have looked before hiring.