• Lien rights may be waived in a contract before commencement of work.
• Implied waivers based on pay-if-paid terms are presumably invalid for lack of clear intent to waive lien in the absence of case law.
• "Paid if Paid" is enforced if explicit.
• "Pay when Paid" suggests time for payment.
• Pay-when-paid clause in the subcontract or purchase order does not create a condition precedent to payment. A properly worded "pay-if-paid" clause will create a condition precedent to the subcontractor's or suppliers payment.
• Louisiana voids any construction contract clause, for private and public construction projects, that “purports to indemnify, defend, or hold harmless…the indemnitee from or against any liability for loss or damage resulting from the negligence or intentional acts or omissions of the indemnitee, an agent or employee of the indemnitee, or a third party over which the indemnitor has no control.”
• Louisiana voids contract clauses that require one party to purchase liability insurance covering another party’s acts or omissions. Under current Louisiana law, only prime contractors working on public projects are protected from unfair risk-shifting in construction contracts.

Retainage Provisions

Public

• For projects less than $500,000, the maximum rate of retainage is 10 percent. For projects exceeding $500,000, the maximum rate of retainage is 5 percent of the contract price. Retainage may be held until 45 days after formal acceptance of the work. LA. REV. STAT. ANN. § 38:2248.  With the consent of the surety, the contractor may substitute securities in lieu of retention. LA. REV. STAT. ANN. § 38: 2249.  For contracts with the Department of Transportation, for projects less than $500,000, the maximum rate of retainage is 10 percent. For projects exceeding $500,000, the maximum rate of retainage is 5 percent. Retainage is held until forty-five days after formal acceptance of the work. The department shall not withhold retainage if the contractor furnishes a retainage bond equal to 10 percent of the contract amount for projects less than $500,000 or 5 percent of a contract exceeding $500,000. LA. REV. STAT. ANN. § 48:256.1.

Private

• For projects over $50,000, retainage funds must be placed in an interest-bearing escrow account by the owner. This provision does not apply to single/double family residences, or for the construction/improvement of various types of industrial facilities involved in the production
  of, inter alia, electric power, wood products, paper or petroleum LA. REV. STAT. ANN. § 9:4815.