Lien Law § 76: Requesting Construction Trust Records in Syracuse

Reviewed September 7, 2026.

An unpaid participant on a Syracuse construction project may need to investigate what happened to project funds. Lien Law § 76 gives a qualifying Article 3-A trust beneficiary a right to inspect and copy trust records or, at the beneficiary’s option, receive a verified statement. Filing a mechanic’s lien is not a prerequisite to every trust claim.

Check eligibility and make a proper request

The right generally arises after the trust claim has been payable for 30 days and may ordinarily be exercised no more often than once each month. Identify the applicable trust and trustee; not every unpaid party is a beneficiary of every participant’s funds.

The written request must identify the beneficiary and address, the project and trust, the nature of the claim, the unpaid amount and its due date. Serve it personally or by registered or certified mail as the statute requires. An informal email asking for bank records is not a substitute for satisfying those requirements.

What must be provided?

Unless otherwise agreed, inspection and copying must occur within ten days of service at a place in the project’s county and during business hours designated by the trustee. A requested verified statement is also due within ten days. It must set out the relevant entries in the records required by § 75, with the required identification of those who made or approved the payments.

Those records concern the particular trust’s receivables, payables, receipts, payments and other required transactions. Review them against invoices, payment records and the statutory permitted uses of funds. A trust accounting differs from a § 38 demand to itemize a filed mechanic’s lien.

If the response is missing or inadequate

Section 76 provides a court procedure to seek compliance, and a trustee may challenge entitlement to the request. Deficient records may support statutory presumptions under § 75, but they do not automatically establish every element of personal liability, criminal wrongdoing or a right to collect a particular sum. Lien and trust funds are related concepts with different requirements; a diversion claim needs its own legal analysis.

Kushnick Pallaci PLLC handles construction trust-fund litigation throughout New York. Call 631-752-7100 or email vtp@kushnicklaw.com. Current offices are on Long Island and in New York City.

Attorney Advertising. General information, not legal advice.