Legal Question in Construction Law in California

To properly answer your question, I would need more information. For instance, was there a construction lender? Also, when was your contract signed, when did you begin work and when did you get to the 99% complete point? You said you "didn't send a 20 day lien notice in the beginning", but did you ever send one? If so, when?

To the extent possible, I recommend that you complete the project, get the final inspection and perform any punchlist items. By doing so, you've removed a good chunk, if not all, of the reasons why a project owner can legitimately withhold money (except for possible delay claims).

If you were the prime contractor in direct contract with the owner (in other words, not a subcontractor), you may not need a preliminary notice, even under the new laws which went in to effect in July. However, this depends on the construction loan issue and some other factors. Even if you can't record a lien, if you were a prime contractor, you still have breach of contract rights against the owner (and, if you're a sub, breach of contract rights against the general contractor).

As for timeliness of a lien, it would depend on when you "complete" your work. Since it sounds like you're not yet complete, you shouldn't have a problem with timeliness.

As it sounds like you don't have a lot of familiarity with liens, I would recommend you engage a construction notice company or a lawyer to make sure you comply with the lien laws and your lien is properly and timely served and recorded. Keep in mind that, once your lien is recorded, you only have 90 days thereafter to file suit to enforce it; otherwise your lien becomes stale.

We can assist you with any of these needs. Feel free to contact my office via email or phone if you have any further questions. We offer free phone consultations.

Nick Campbell

Tel: 818-381-5716, ext. 201

email: [email protected]