At least five contractors have filed court papers against Disney, claiming that the entertainment conglomerate owes them more than $12 million. The largest lien is for $10.6 million and was filed by Steiny and Co., a Vallejo-based company that claims it hasn't been paid for the electrical work it performed on the new park's Paradise Pier section.

Steiny and Co. principal Susan Steiny says her company was on a fast-track construction schedule, which obligated the firm to accommodate Disney's changing plans without first settling on a price for the needed changes. Now that the work has been performed, she says, Disney has the upper hand in negotiations to settle the unpaid bills.

"It's an old trick, and Disney's quite good at it," Steiny says. "They can get you pretty good . . . eventually they settle, but it's all at a pretty penny."

Steiny says payment negotiations are continuing with both Disney and the general contractor, Irvine-based Hansal Phelps. "We obviously cannot talk about this situation because we have confidentiality agreements we must respect," Cuyler McGinley, operations manager of Hansal Phelps, tells GlobeSt.com.

In addition to Steiny and Co.'s $10.6-million lien, subcontractor Wesco Distribution has filed a $221,973 lien against the park. Texas-based Beck Steel, another Hansal Phelps sub, filed a $909,548 lien.

Fontana-based Eagle Iron Construction, which was hired by Beck Steel, filed a lien for $754,000. Franklin Reinforcing Steel Co. of Santa Fe Springs is asking for $76,792.

A Disney spokesman says he expects that all of companies will be paid and the liens will be removed. Part of the problem may stem from differences in the contractors' billing cycles and Disney's payment cycles, he adds.

Indeed, attorneys note that projects as large as Disney's $1-billion new theme park rarely are completed without at least some liens being filed. Often times, the liens are filed merely as a precautionary measure: State law requires that contractors file within a specified number of days after a job is finished in order to protect their rights to sue if payment isn't received later.