COVID-19 – Update – Lenders Update: Release Of Holdback

An amendment to the regulations under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act ("Amendment") was passed on Thursday night, lifting as of April 16, 2020, the suspension order, which as of March 16th, 2020, suspended the Construction Act's lien preservation and perfection timelines. The broad wording of the Amendment regrettably did not address the impact of the previously imposed suspension during the hiatus period from and including March 16^th, 2020 to April 16, 2020. However, the Attorney General issued a memorandum ("Memorandum") prior to the release of the Amendment, which indicated that "the parties would have the same amount of time to meet a deadline that had been remaining before the suspension began on March 16^th, 2020". According to the Memorandum, it would appear that during the 31 day hiatus period from and including March 16th to and including April 15th (the "Maximum Suspension Period"), lien preservation/perfection periods may remain suspended