A Subcontractor’s Trust Claim Against an Owner: The Rebar Lathing Decision

Reviewed September 7, 2026.

Whether a subcontractor can enforce an owner’s Article 3-A trust requires identification of the particular trust and the claimant’s statutory basis for beneficiary status. It is different from a claim against the subcontractor’s own payment obligor.

In Rebar Lathing Corp. v. Century Maxim Construction Corp., 104 A.D.3d 406 (2013), the First Department affirmed denial of a motion to dismiss the subcontractor’s trust claim against the owner. Although there was no direct contract, the subcontractor had filed a valid mechanic’s lien, which supplied a basis for the owner-trust claim under Lien Law § 71(3)(a).

Do not assume that filing any notice proves standing

The decision concerned a valid lien and the owner’s trust. It did not establish that a bare filing automatically proves a trust claim, or that a subcontractor without a lien can never pursue any Article 3-A remedy against any defendant.

Review § 70 to identify actual trust assets and § 71 to identify the relevant trust claims. An owner’s trust and a contractor’s trust can have different assets and beneficiaries. Contractual privity, statutory liability and the status of any lien require separate attention.

Even where standing exists, diversion, recoverable relief, timeliness and the representative-action requirements of § 77 still must be established.

Kushnick Pallaci PLLC assists clients throughout New York with construction trust fund claims. Contact 631-752-7100 or vtp@kushnicklaw.com.

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