Legal Question in Construction Law in California

My dishwasher flooded my kitchen, so I filed an insurance claim. The insurance adjuster cut a check, and when I hired a contractor, he suggested a public adjuster who helped him for the same issue. Statefarm required us to send all the contract information to them, and they issued checks as the work was being completed based on the contract. After I received the final check based on the contract, the contractor said I owed him more, and produced another bill outside of the contract we have sent to the insurance company, and demanded an additional $4000 dollars. I never signed the contract amendment because i never produced it, until I showed him the final check from the insurance co. I told him I will give him the final check based on the contract once he repair the issue's I pointed out. He is demanding the additional 4000, and I just received a mechanical lien today demanding the final check and the additional $4000. The work is still not complete because there are several issues, and I still have the check based on the balance owed on the contract. I have no problem paying him what we agreed on, once the issues are fixed, but he has filed a lien.


Asked on 6/13/16, 5:57 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Filing a mechanic's lien is rather routine among contractors. It's a statutory method to assure payment, and does not necessarily mean there is a dispute between the contractor and the homeowner. I recommend having a cool-headed discussion with the contractor to agree upon what needs to be done by each of you to get the job completed properly and get payment made and the lien released. Maybe some concessions will be needed, but face-to-face discussion is likely to resolve the issues. Avoid going to court over this, and keep in mind that a mechanic's lien is a pretty powerful collection tool.

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Answered on 6/14/16, 8:38 am


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