Vendors and subcontractors who worked on Miami Freedom Park say they’re owed more than $13 million and have started filing lawsuits and liens against the project’s developer to try to collect. The unpaid-work claims span electrical supply, HVAC service, and custom millwork, and they’re piling up just months after Nu Stadium, the 25,000-seat home of Inter Miami, opened its gates.
The dispute was first detailed by The Real Deal, which reported that Tampa-based World Electric Supply has sued Miami Freedom Park Stadium LLC, alleging it’s owed $2.8 million plus interest, attorneys’ fees and costs. Wisconsin-based Glenn Rieder, a custom millwork and interior contractor, filed its own suit against Inter Miami Stadium, Miami Freedom Park Stadium, and general contractor Lemartec Corporation, seeking nearly $4.2 million in unpaid work, according to the same report.
Beyond the lawsuits, vendors and subcontractors have filed eight liens against the developer since May, seeking a combined $6.3 million in allegedly unpaid work, per the outlet’s reporting. The largest of those came from Hill York Service Company, a Fort Lauderdale-based HVAC contractor that claimed $4 million in unpaid services out of a total of $28.4 million, with the underlying work completed in July.
A 90-Day Clock and a Ghosted Feeling
Florida law gives lien claimants a hard deadline: a claim of lien must be recorded within 90 days of completing work or providing services, labor or materials, and any foreclosure suit that follows must be filed within a year of that recording unless an owner’s Notice of Contest shortens the window to 60 days, according to August Law. Miss that 90-day window, and a subcontractor permanently forfeits its mechanic’s lien rights against the property owner. The Real Deal’s reporting notes that more vendors are expected to file additional liens as their own 90-day windows expire, meaning the $13 million figure could grow…