I've experienced the same thing. In commercial projects in some places, the contractors actually just file liens right away "as a matter of practice". They automatically expire 60 (or some number of) days after the last day of work on the project, unless it is "perfected" by filing an actual lawsuit. At least that is the case in Canada. That seems to at least shift some of the cost and risk to the lien filer as they must pay for a lawyer, be ready to prosecute, etc.