Can a subcontractor sue an owner?

i had my construction work done by a general contractor who left us in the middle and also left the country (USA), now some subcontractors are coming and asking payment from me but i can't pay them as i already paid my general contractor for that but he didn't pay the subcontractor. do you think subcontractor can sue me (owner ) for that when there is no contract between owner and subcontractors
btw this is related to illinois (USA)

I had a case where a subcontractor threatened to put a lien on a Chicago house I was rehabbing Apparently, my contractor did not pay this subcontractor. However, since it was the contractor who hired the sub-contractor and not me, I was not responsible. As a result, no lien was ever filed.

yes, i have had a previous occasion with friends who refused to pay a subcontractor because they weren't satisified with the work. The contractor sued them and although the contractor won and was granted the money, after all the attorney charges, the contractor realized it wasn't even worth the battle for the money. I believe if you are brought to court the subcontractor won't have a case. if you already paid for the work you can't be forced to pay twice, by law.

oh wow this very thing happened in Mass....on a talk show with a lawyer someone called in and i think the lawyer basically said what your 1st responder said but the 2nd guy is right too....i think the radio lawyer said that is why you don't pay everything up front...and that the sub guy needs to go after the main contractor and that you could go to court to sue...see a lawyer definitely...i mean small claims court wont help you I'm sure...may a civil suit court could help you out if you went and asked....

There are a few times in your life when consulting an attorney is a very good thing. When persons are coming to you for payment and may record liens against your property, that would be the PERFECT time to consult your attorney.

If you do not have an attorney, use the lawyer referral service of the Illinois State Bar Association.

Yes, they do it all the time. They were doing something for your benefit and are entitled to be paid by you. The fact that you paid somebody to pay them does not get you off the hook, it only gives you a case against the contractor. They will likely put a lien on your property.

Unless you contracted directly with the subcontractors, they can't touch you. Look over the agreement you made with your contractor. In all likelihood you will not have to pay them.

I don't actually know the laws, but I would be highly surprised if they could. The contract should be between the contractor and subcontractor. That's what you pay the contractor for.

First of all if I was you, I would not worry myself about it. As long as you have your general contractors contract, and canceled check, made out to him. The reason I am answering your question, is because I crossed paths with a situation like this once in my life, and I Thank God, I was only a laborer for the subcontractor. Except the general contractor didn't leave the country, he just skipped out money and all too, 2 days before job was completed. No one thought anything about him being gone, til my boss the sub-contractor, sent to billings, and got no response from the general contractor. All I know, it was a long drawn out mess, til finally, the owners attorney told my boss, to hire a private investigator to track down his money, cause he wasn't getting a dime from his client the owner. Due to the true fact, they did not have a contract to do the work, the general contractor did, but I will say though. My boss did harass the owner for awhile, and that only made matters worse. Due to the fact the owner had to get a attorney, to get my boss from harassing him. For he wasn't about to pay my boss, and really didn't want to deal with my boss in small claims court. Which my boss knew he did not have a leg to stand on, but thought if he harassed the owner long enough, the owner would cough up the money owed to my boss. For a lot of people are scared to death of court situations, and rather pay, than appear, cause they do not know the laws of our land. Anyway my boss was not a happy camper, cause he had hoped, his harassment might of paid off, and a few times it did for him, but not that time. LOL So stand your grounds, as long as you got all the legal paperwork, like the contract and canceled check, the general contractor cashed. For the Law of the Land is on your side, not the sub-contractors. Just hope you will not have to get a attorney, but don't let sub-contractor threaten you with court. Tell him go ahead, and that you will see him in court. Than all you have to do is show the judge your paper evidense, and request that the sub-contractor to show his contract with you, where you hired him to do the work that he did. So don't let him harass you for payment, just tell him to try and sue you, and you will see him in court. Good Luck