§ 44-b. Necessary parties; lien against public or private improvement.
Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of section forty-four of this
article, any private owner or the state or a public corporation with
which a notice of lien is filed shall not be a necessary party defendant
in an action to enforce the lien if, either before or after the
commencement of the action, a contractor or subcontractor, (a) in the
case of a public improvement, executes a bond or undertaking, in
accordance with subdivision five of section twenty-one of this chapter,
to the state or the public corporation with which the notice of lien is
filed conditioned for the payment of any judgment that may be recovered
in an action to enforce the lien or, (b) in the case of a private
improvement, executes a bond or undertaking in accordance with
subdivision four of section nineteen of this chapter, to the county
clerk with which the notice of lien is filed conditioned for the payment
of any judgment that may be recovered in an action to enforce the lien.