Subcontractor Owed $100K+ by a GC or Developer? Funding the Claim

When a general contractor or developer owes your company $100,000 or more, the problem usually isn’t whether you did the work. It’s getting paid for it. Unpaid change orders, retainage that never gets released, delay costs, and a GC who says it hasn’t been paid by the owner can leave a subcontractor carrying a six-figure hole.

Darkwell Capital helps subcontractors pursue those claims without draining their own cash. Our commercial funding focuses on claims of $100,000 or more, subject to review and approval by our team. We work with attorneys who know this fight.

Owed $100,000 or more by a GC or developer, and legal costs are the holdup? Request a free claim review.

What subcontractor vs GC claims usually involve

• Unpaid change orders. Extra or changed work you were directed to do, often by email, field direction, or a verbal instruction, that the GC now won’t price or pay.
• Retainage. Money held back from each pay application that is released late or not at all. Many states have statutes that limit retainage or set release timing, and the rules often differ between public and private projects.
• Delay and disruption. Added costs when the schedule slips or the work is resequenced for reasons outside your control. Many subcontracts include no-damages-for-delay or notice clauses, and how courts treat those clauses varies by state.
• Pay-if-paid and pay-when-paid. The GC says it doesn’t owe you until the owner pays it. These clauses are covered below.
• Backcharges and termination. Deductions for alleged defects or delays, or a termination that leaves your completed work unpaid.

Pay-if-paid vs pay-when-paid: why the wording matters

A pay-when-paid clause is usually read as a timing rule: the GC gets a reasonable time to pay you, but the owner’s nonpayment doesn’t erase the debt. A pay-if-paid clause tries to go further and shift the risk of owner nonpayment onto the subcontractor.

Courts in many states read these clauses narrowly and look for clear, express language before treating payment by the owner as a true condition. Some states limit or refuse to enforce pay-if-paid clauses altogether. Whether a clause blocks your claim depends on its exact wording, your state’s law, and whether other rights, like a lien or a payment bond, are still available. That’s a question for your attorney, and it’s worth asking early.

Other ways subcontractors get paid

• Mechanic’s lien rights on private projects, if you meet your state’s notice and filing deadlines. Colorado subs can start with our guide to a subcontractor not paid by the general contractor in Colorado.
• Payment bond claims on public projects and on bonded private projects. See Miller Act and Little Miller Act bond claims.
• A breach of contract claim against the GC, and in some cases claims against the owner or developer, depending on the facts and the contract chain.
• Dispute resolution clauses. Many subcontracts require mediation or arbitration first, or tie your claim to the GC’s claim against the owner. Read those clauses before you file anything.

Deadlines in construction are short and strict. Missing a notice window can cost you a lien or bond right even when the debt is real.

Why the cost of the fight stops good claims

A GC or developer that owes you six figures often knows the math: a long fight costs you more than it costs them. Lawyers who handle contract matters bill an average of $373 an hour, and corporate litigation averages $461 an hour, according to Clio’s Legal Trends data (2025 figures). In federal court, the median time from filing to a civil trial was 33.7 months for the 12 months ending June 30, 2026, per the U.S. Courts caseload profile. A National Center for State Courts study reported a median cost of $91,000 to take a contract case through trial, based on a 2012 survey of trial lawyers.

For the full breakdown, read How much does it cost to sue a business for breach of contract?

How Darkwell helps

Litigation costs are substantial, and they land on your business while it’s still waiting to be paid. Darkwell helps carry them. That matters most when the other side is betting you can’t afford to keep going.

• We help carry the cost. Darkwell funding helps pay for the case, so your operating cash stays in your business.
• We bring attorneys we know. Darkwell has a network of attorneys we know. They help keep costs down while still pursuing the claim. The claim moves forward with an attorney from our network, or your current attorney where it fits.
• Your attorney handles the law. We don’t run your case or choose your legal strategy. Your attorney does that.
• You make a clear decision. The goal is to take the stress out of the fight and make the smart financial decision about your claim.

What to send for a claim review

• The subcontract, including any flow-down terms and the payment clause.
• Change order requests, directives, emails, and daily reports that show the added work.
• Pay applications, lien waivers you signed, and a ledger of what’s been paid and what’s still owed, including retainage.
• Schedules or notices tied to delay claims.
• Any lien, bond claim, or notice you’ve already filed, with dates.
• Your attorney’s name, if you already have one.

How we get paid

Our fee comes out of the recovery, not your pocket. If there’s no recovery, you don’t repay our funding. Your written agreement sets the exact terms.

Where we work and claim size

For business claims, we fund in many U.S. states, reviewed state by state, where champerty rules and litigation funding laws allow our model. We confirm your state during review. See where Darkwell funds claims.

Commercial funding focuses on larger claims of $100,000 or more. Across all our work, we review claims of $10,000 or more, subject to review and approval by our team.

Darkwell does not buy or collect consumer debt in states that require a collection license, including Colorado.

Common questions

Do I have to use an attorney from your network? No. The claim can move forward with an attorney from our network, or your current attorney where it fits.

Can you help if the GC says the owner hasn’t paid them? Possibly. A pay-if-paid defense doesn’t end every claim, and there may be lien or bond rights in play. We review the contract and the facts as part of the claim review.

What size claims do you fund? Commercial funding focuses on larger claims of $100,000 or more. Across all our work, we review claims of $10,000 or more, subject to review and approval by our team.

What does a claim review cost? Nothing. The claim review is free.

Owed $100,000 or more by a GC or developer? Request a free claim review. Send what you have, and you’ll get a response from our team.

Related reading: Commercial Claim Funding · Construction Bond Claims · Cost to Sue for Breach of Contract · Sub Not Paid by GC (Colorado) · Construction Lawyer Won’t Take Your Case? · Contractor Not Getting Paid