We built a house in bay area last year, but one subcontractor who installed AC put a mechanic lien on my house in Nov 2017, claiming $11K, and he then filed a law suit against the general contractor and us (me, my wife and our trust). We had a case management conference in court in May and found out that this subcontractor did not have all the proof that he served us properly, but both the general contractor and us failed to respond to the summon. So we have another court date set in Nov. 2018.
I have proof that I paid the general contractor in full except that I withhold the $11K from the last payment of $22K to the general contractor. The general contractor promised me repeatedly that he will resolve the matter with the subcontractor and the subcontractor will remove the lien as a result, but this never happen. In the case management conference, since all three parties involved failed to do something, we were told that we have another month to file response. Now my question:
(1) Should I hire a lawyer to help me resolve this matter?
Or I can download a form and file the response myself? I have about two more weeks left.
(2) If I need to find a lawyer, what kind of lawyer I should talk to? I live in San Jose area.
(3) Can I use the $11K withhold money to pay lawyer? Or I have to file a suit against the general contractor?
Thank you so much!
