Florida - We had a lien put on our home by a subcontractor that worked on the home in 2000. The judgement [sic]was in our favor. The subcontractor was supposed to remove the lien and never did. His company is no longer in business and his last known address was in 2009. Do we need to get a lawyer to help us remove this lien or are we able to do this on our own after all attempts to find this person have turned up nothing. We were trying to get a home equity loan when the lien popped up. Thanks for your time.
There is a statutory method of removing the lien. It involves filing an action compelling the lien holder to show cause why the court should not adjudge that the lien be vacated and discharged of record. Then a certified copy of the judgment can be recorded in the clerk's office removing the lien. (See:
Discharge of Liens - Florida Statute Section 713.21 (4) (5) However, you would need to effect personal service on the subcontractor whom you say as since vanished.
Another thought is to have your attorney review the previous judgment (the one you say was decided in your favor) to see if it contains language making it eligible for certification and recorded with the county clerk as per the above mentioned Florida Statutes. If not, perhaps and order nunc pro tunc would work to qualify it as such. "
Nunc pro tunc" means doing something now that could have been done earlier. In other words amending the current judgment so that it expressly voids the lien in such language as to qualify it for recording with the clerk.
Otherwise I don't see any legal recourse except to quiet title.
