Lien waivers are usually provided by contractors to owners at the time of a progress payment or final payment. The waiver certifies to the owner that the contractor has paid all employees, suppliers, and subcontractors connected with the project. This protects the owner from being double-billed — once by the contractor and again by a supplier or sub who was never paid by the contractor. Occasionally, however, contractors supply false lien waivers to further their own ends at the expense of subcontractors. Until recently, subcontractors could not get relief from the courts — even when they had filed a mechanic's lien on the owner's property — if the general contractor had provided a lien waiver. The current trend, however,
