A Client Owes Me (california S Corp) $15000 But They Wont Pay. I Placed A Lien But Lawyers Charge $200/$400 So Enforcing The Lien Is Going To Cost Me The Full Contract Or Even More. What Should I Do?

Hi everyone,

I’m a contractor and my company is an S-corp. We did a job for a homeowner for about $14,800. The work was completed, they’re using it, and they’re not paying the balance.

I already served and recorded a mechanic’s lien (on time and properly, as far as I know), but I haven’t enforced it yet. I know there’s a deadline to file a lawsuit to foreclose on the lien or it expires.

From what I’ve read, because it’s an S-corp, I can’t represent the company myself in court for a lien foreclosure or a breach of contract lawsuit – it has to be an attorney.

I’ve talked to a few lawyers and they’re quoting around $200–$400/hour, and realistically that could eat most or all of the $14,800 I’m trying to recover, especially if the case drags on. That makes it feel almost pointless to enforce the lien, even if I win.

So my questions are:

• Are there any options where my S-corp can pursue this without me having to pay full hourly rates to a lawyer (for example: contingency fee, flat fee, collections attorney, etc.)?
• Is there any way I can handle this through small claims court or some other process where I don’t need an attorney, even though the contract is in the company’s name?

For context:

• Work was completed, no major defects as far as I’m aware.
• The client is just refusing to pay / dodging.
• Location: Los Angeles, California.

I’m mainly trying to figure out whether there’s a realistic way to go after this amount without spending almost the same amount on legal fees.

Thanks in advance for any advice or things I might not be seeing here.