You May Only Get One Shot To File Your Mechanics Lien

In the past, we’ve posted about the importance of filing your lien timely and correctly.   Just a small defect in the legal property description, or the omission of something in the contents of the lien can render your lien null and void.

As soon as a lien claimant has their lien challenged as improper, the first thing they want to do is file an amendment.    And this brings us to a very important question:  Can you amend a defective lien?

In most states, claimants are only allowed to amend the lien to include missing information only if the amendment is made before the original lien period expires.

I stumbled upon a case out of North Carolina addressing this issue.    In Gaston Grading v. Young, the NC Court of Appeals explained this general rule:

…if plaintiff wished to correct the mistakes of its second lien, plaintiff was required to cancel the second lien and substitute a new claim of lien containing the correct information. Plaintiff failed to do so within the prescribed time and thus, its claim of lien is void.

While each state’s treatment of this issue may differ, it does seem the be the dominant rule in the United States.   I practice law in Washington, Oregon and Louisiana, and those three states treat amended liens similarly to North Carolina.

This is why I’ve titled this post, “You May Only Get One Shot To File Your Mechanics Lien.”  While you can – in theory – amend the lien if you make a mistake, you’re still stuck with the time restrictions of your state.   When you file the lien the first time, you should get it right.

Filing A Lien Is A Discipline, and Not A Knee-Jerk Reaction

You’re a contractor, subcontractor or material supplier, and you’re unpaid on a project.   Instantly, your thoughts focus on the mechanics lien concept.  It’s the natural law in the construction industry.

Now, I’m the first to tell you that filing a mechanics lien is one of the best methods of collecting construction debt, and it’s certainly important to think about filing a construction lien as soon as you’re faced with a non-paying customer. But, being prepared and qualified to file a lien takes discipline.

If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times….lien laws are complex and hyper-technical.   Across the country, lien laws protect contractors and suppliers by providing them the right to lien non-paying projects.   Likewise, though, the laws protect property owners to prevent owners from paying for services twice, or having an improper lien filed against its property.

So, why is filing a mechanics lien a discipline?   Because it starts the moment you sign your contract.

• In many (not all) states, you can actually waive your right to lien before ever providing any services or materials.  If you’re in one of these states, it’s important to review your contract for this type of waiver language.

• Many states require contractors and/or suppliers to deliver a Preliminary Notice to the property owner (“NTO”) before furnishing labor or materials.  Failure to deliver notice, and to deliver it properly, may result in the forfeiting of lien rights.

• Many states require contractors and/or suppliers to deliver a “Notice of Intent to Lien” or similar instrument a certain number of days after accounts receivables become due, or a certain number of days before filing a lien.   Failure to deliver this notice, and to deliver it properly, may result in the forfeiting of lien rights.   (Read about the differences between Preliminary Notices and Notices of Intent here).

• Liens must be filed within a certain time period, and each state is absolutely different.   (Get state-by-state lien deadlines here).   Liens must be filed timely, or they are likely void.

Express Lien Helps Your Company Be Disciplined About Liens

Express Lien is more than a simple notice and lien filing company (although we’re darn good at this, too).  We were founded to help clear the air concerning the complex lien and notice requirements across the nation.

Here’s how we do it:

• Our Lien Wizard guides you through the notice and lien requirements associated with your role in the project, and the state the project is located.   You tell the Wizard some key information, and it pulls the notice and lien requirements from its database.   From there, you can order the products / documents that are relevant to what you and the law requires.  (Watch a Video on how our Lien Wizard Guides You Through Notice and Lien Requirements).

• We provide you with Free Lien Law Punchlists.   This is a summary of the basic notice and lien requirements of each state.

• The Lien Pilot helps you calculate project deadlines.   For free, you can manage your project data, contacts and important dates.   The Lien Pilot calculates applicable deadlines and filing requirements, and prompts you when they are approaching.

• We do the work for you.   If you don’t want to prepare and send the documents out yourself, or if you just have too many to send and want to focus on running your construction or supply business…Express Lien will do all the work for you.    For notices, we’ll print them, mail them, track them, and store proof of their delivery on our secure servers.  For liens and other filed documents, we’ll prepare them, have them filed, and deliver notice to the project’s relevant contacts.

Washington Law Protects Contractors from Dangers of Frivolous Lien Statute

A quick word from the construction law case files:

The Court of Appeals, Division 1, out in Washington state, has refused to deem a construction lien as frivolous based upon the complexity of the construction contract at dispute. The court in SD Deacon Corp. of Washington v. Gaston Bros. Excavating, Inc., decided back in May of this year, that the state’s “frivilous lien” statute, coded under RCW 60.04.081, requires a more in-depth analysis of factual circumstances surrounding the substance of the contract and the lien.

The court in SD Deacon further reasoned that a court can only evaluate in a frivolous lien proceeding are, by way of example, whether the lien was properly filed, signed by the proper party, properly served, and meets the statutory form requirements. Issues of substance of the lien (i.e. the contract amount, amount due or change orders) are issues which require more substantive proceedings to analyze factual circumstances.

Because the frivolous lien procedure codified in RCW 60.04.081 does not provide for such proceedings, a party seeking to extinguish a lien filing will be unsuccessful in attempting to show to the court that the lien was frivolous.

Essentially, the court’s new rule is that the “lien must be so devoid of merit that the claim has no possibility of succeeding” and that “there must be findings supporting the conclusion that the lien is invalid beyond legitimate dispute.”

The Court’s ruling provides some hope for “fringe” contractors who’s claims hold some element of uncertainty, but who desperately need the security provided by a lien in order to collect payment from an uphill contractor or owner.

The frivolous lien statute was enacted to prevent fraudulent claims against contractors, by awarding successful parties attorneys fees. The ruling in the case shows that the award of fees will not be granted unless your lien fails to meet statutory form requirements.

Express Lien, Inc. has the knowledge and experience to meet these stringent requirements. Let us help you ensure your lien’s success!

Great Information on Massachusetts Lien Laws at the Massachusetts Builders Blog

Massachusetts construction attorney Andrea Goldman operates a great blog for builders, contractors, subcontractors and other construction industry professionals in the state.  You can also visit her law office online here.

The Massachusetts Builders Blog has recently posted a string of blog articles about mechanic lien laws in the state – they are must-reads for anyone doing construction in Mass.

• Who Can File A Mechanics Lien in Massachusetts
• The Strength of a Mechanic’s Lien
• Filing Mechanic’s Liens in Mass. – How to Avoid Mistakes
• Difference between Mechanics Liens and Real Estate Attachments

The Importance of Being Registered to work in Georgia

Virtually every state regulates contractors and other construction professionals in some manner.

Those who perform construction services without proper registration or licensing, jeopardize their ability to file a construction lien.  This is the case in California, for example, which was discussed in a blog post a few weeks ago.

In Georgia, O.C.G. §48-13-30 et seq. provides that non-resident contractors who work on contracts with a price greater than $10,000.00 must register with the commissioner.   Failure to so register constitutes criminal activity.

In addition to its criminal implications, §48-13-37 provides that:

No contractor who fails to register with the commissioner as required by this article or who fails to comply with any provision of this article shall be entitled to maintain an action to recover payment for performance on the contract in the courts of this state.

While this does not specifically state that the unregistered nonresident contractor cannot file a construction lien, it can be safely assumed that the non-resident unregistered contractor’s lien will leave room for a bona fide challenge.

Virginia’s Payment Chain & Why It’s Important to Lien Early

By statute, the deadline for contractors to file mechanics liens on projects in Virgina is 90 days from the last providing of services or materials.  However, because of Virginia’s unique “payment chain,”  subs and suppliers should file their liens as soon as problems become apparent.

The “payment chain” rules can be quite complex, but its theory is simple:  The property owner must pay for the project only once.

In other words, if the owner pays the general contractor for work before a lien is filed, the lien against the property owner will fail.

So while the Virginia statues provide contractors with 90 days to file their liens, the practical deadline for filing a subcontractor’s mechanic’s lien is before the GC is paid.

What This Means
In previous posts (here, here and here), we’ve written about some mistakes contractors make when collecting on non-paying projects.  Over and over again, it seems contractors wait too long to file their liens, accept promises of future payments, and fear filing a mechanic’s lien to avoid staining relationships.

While in some states a small amount of delay is bearable, the “payment chain” in Virginia makes it deadly.

Across the United States, the best way to protect yourself from a non-paying project is to lien, and lien early.  The “payment chain” in Virginia makes this more the case.

Understanding the Payment Chain
While the theory behind the “payment chain” is simple, as with any other legal concept, the details are more complex.

Here are some questions that are often asked concerning this concept:  What if the property owner partially pays the GC?  How does this actually function in practice?   How do I know whether the owner paid the GC?  What rights do I have if I lien too late?

Fullerton & Knowles, a construction law firm in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Wash. D.C. published a Construction Law Survival Manual on its website with answers to these questions.  You can find the particular discussion of the “Payment Chain” at this link.

Things You Can Do To Prevent Payment Chain Problems
The “payment chain” rules apply by default on every construction project.  However, there are features within the Virginia Code that subcontractors can use to bypass these rules.

The Code of Virginia’s Section 43-11 provides that by sending certain notices to the property owner and/or general contractor, the subcontractor can protect itself from a “defense of payment.”   In other words, by notifying the owner and contractor that certain materials or services were provided, the subcontractor or supplier puts the upper tier parties on notice that they deserve payment.

The require notices do require some administrative expense, however, as the code requires that 2 notices are actually sent.  Fuller & Knowles describe the notices and their benefits on its website, as follows:

First, a “Pre-registration” notice is sent to the owner and/or the general contractor before labor and materials are supplied to the project. After labor or materials are supplied, the claimant must provide a second notice with a statement of account and affidavit. The claimant supplying a subcontractor can elect to send the notice only to the general contractor. This will not obligate the owner, but will still obligate the general contractor. The potential benefits are:

1. The Section 43-11 notice can partially take the claimant out of the defense of payment system.  The owner and upstream contractors become directly obligated for payment, to the extent they are holding money at the time they receive the second notice and statement of account. The owner and general contractor essentially provide an involuntary guarantee or joint check agreement after receipt of the second notice.
2. A Section 43-11 notice will probably also provide priority over other mechanic’s lien claimants. In a “partial defense of payment” situation, the 43-11 notice claimant can take the entire fund held by the owner and general contractor. Other mechanic’s lien claimants will receive nothing until the 43-11 claimant is paid in full.
3. There is also an extended deadline for the Section 43-11 claim second notice. A claimant may still have Section 43-11 rights, even after the deadline for mechanic’s lien filing. A claimant probably also still has Section 43-11 rights, even if the claimant has waived lien rights.
4. It is way to avoid problems and legal fees altogether. If the owner and general contractor know they may become obligated, the claimant is likely to receive payment without legal assistance. The owner and general contractor are aware of the players on the project and are motivated to see payments properly applied.

Express Lien Can Help
Express Lien files mechanics liens in the State of Virginia, as we also prepare and send all Virginia construction lien notices.

Fuller & Knowles state that the 43-11 notices are underutilized by contractors because of administrative expense.   Quite frankly, its also because the notices are confusing, and in the middle of operating your construction company it’s difficult to keep up with sending, tracking and managing these notices.

Express Lien solves this problem.

You give us the project data, and our propriety web-based software recommends certain notices and documents, and with the click on a button we’ll prepare these documents, send them for you, track them, and manage them through your client login panel.

Give us a shot, and let us show you how to Lien Smarter.

Virginia’s Interesting 150 Day Rule

In most states, a contractor only has 1 lien deadline of concern:  when the lien must be filed.  In Virginia, however, contractors must juggle two lien deadlines.

First, like other states, Virginia has a regular lien filing time requirement.  All liens must be filed within 90 days from when labor and services were last performed by the contractor.

Unlike other states, however, Virginia has an interesting second deadline, referred to in the state as the “150 day rule.”

From the last day of work, the claimant must count backwards 150 days.   Generally speaking, a contractor is not allowed to include any labor or materials supplied outside this window in its mechanics lien.

While the 150-day rule does not apply to retainage funds or sums not yet due because of a “pay when paid” clause, it usually applies otherwise, and will invalidate a lien if it includes sums due not within this 150-day window.

As mentioned in a previous post about the “payment chain” in Virginia,  an arguable third deadline of concern in that state, subcontractors and suppliers in Virginia have extra motivation for filing liens immediately upon non-payment.   The 150-day rule in Virginia is even further cause.

Caution: Lien Laws in are Hyper-Technical

In most states, the liens laws are hyper-technical.   This means that the laws have many requirements, and that courts strictly construe the rules against the party filing construction liens.

This is true for nearly every state.

While laws across the nation provide lien rights to those in the construction industry, because of the power of these instruments most states require that the liens be filed in exact accordance with the law to be valid.

This is especially the case with regard to the required contents of a lien.

Each state has different requirements for what must be stated within a mechanic’s lien, and how that information must be stated.

Every state, for example, will require the claimant to identify the property being liened.  In Louisiana, Washington and Virginia, however, the law requires that the lien use the legal property description and not simply a municipal address.   The proper identification of property can be so important we’ve written an entire blog post about it here.

In Virginia, the laws are even stricter.   Because the Virginia lien law is land record based, the claimant is expected to perform a complete title search to acquire the exact legal owner and legal property description.   A lien that does not lien the exact owner, at the exact property for the exact amount due, can be deemed invalid by courts.

Express Lien does this leg work for your company, helping your company properly prepare these important legal forms.   Our professional legal document preparers are familiar with the lien and notice forms in your state, and can help your company Lien Smarter.

Can Unlicensed Contractors Lien in California?

In California, like in every state, those who perform labor or provide materials to a construction project obtain a right to lien the property.  In fact, this lien right is even built into the California constitution.

However, every state’s lien laws has complex requirements.   A question that is frequently asked is whether an unlicensed contractor has the right to file a construction or mechanics lien.

Of course, the answer to this question varies state-by-state.  Further, one must remember that in most states, the fact that a person is unlicensed is not necessarily controlling as licenses are not required in every situation.

As it regards the state of California, the question was discussed in a legal column of PressBanner.com.  Gary Redenbacher says:

But what about unlicensed contractors? By law, unlicensed contractors are not entitled to be paid — period — for anything. Even if they do a perfect job and put $300,000 of materials into your home, they will be thrown out of court if they sue to get paid. Since unlicensed contractors cannot turn to the law to be paid, any lien they record is a false lien.

Contracting without a license is a misdemeanor. Recording a false lien in an attempt to get paid might just jump an unlicensed contractor from the frying pan into the fire.

One of the most critical mistakes any contractor can make when filing a construction lien is not being qualified to file one at all.  In California, its pretty clear that unlicensed contractors are completely without lien rights.  Elsewhere, if you’re performing construction work without a license, you should be extra-cautious before filing a construction lien, as you may not be qualified.

Be Careful When Using Free Legal Forms

Gerard Simington with “FindAnAttorneyForMe.com” published an informative article that warns businesses about using free legal forms found on the internet.

The Internet has placed legal information and legal forms at our fingertips – and its easy to forget sometimes that the law is a very complicated subject, and legal forms are no exception.  While a legal form may seem simple on its face, the blanks can carry significant legal consequences.

It’s always great to hire an attorney to draft legal documents from scratch, or to “tweak” legal forms to fit your particular need.   The costs associated with legal counsel, however, are simply sometimes out of your business’ reach.

Legal Document preparation services like Express Lien are perfect for these situations.  Our staffs of professionals are familiar with the forms that relate to your construction project, and we can help you draft & file your forms properly and avoid costly mistakes.