Contractor Mechanic's Lien Question

[Jochy Perez]

Hi All,

Have a question regarding Contractor Mechanic's lien.

 Recently I had a painter paint an apartment for me and did a horrendous job. I decided not to further work with them. I was paying them labor only. They hand wrote a "contract" on a "Proposal" form of paper for painting 2 apartments and I signed. I don't think it's a legal contract since it's on a proposal form with no terms. They only painted one of them. I had to pay another contractor to finish the job they botched.

They are threatening to put a lien on the property for the balance owed, yet there's no balance owed since they didn't finish the work. I was reading online regarding Mechanic's lien in MA and it states they had 90 days from the last date of service to file (it's past that date). 

My options: 

1. Completely ignore the threats to put a lien on the property

2. Have my attorney send them a scary letter 

3. If they file the lien, have my attorney send them a letter to remove lien or prepare for suit

4. Pay them the labor cost even though the work was not done. I did pay in full for the first apartment which was half of the "contract"

I tried to negotiate just to give them something to go away but it seems like they really think they are entitled to the full balance. Why should I pay for labor not completed? The balance "owed" according to them is 2,500

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.