Legal Question in Construction Law in California
Lien Rights without 20 day notice
Prime Contractor Has not finished paying.Verbal Time and materials agreement that he paid every invoice on until the last 2 . Job is finished no dispute that we did the work. He says that because there is a construction loan and we have maxed out the the line items that were budgeted for this paticular portion of the project that he cannot pay till later. I did not file a 20 day notice but I met with the prime and the owner several times and saw and talked to the owner over the entire time and the owner threw a BBQ for us at the end of our part of the project. Because he had actual knowledge of our work is there an exception to the 20 day notice? Please any advice would help I only have one week till the 90 days from completion of work is up
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Lien Rights without 20 day notice
I'm afraid that the courts are pretty strict about sending the prelien. You can send one now, but it will only capture those services and materials you supplied in the 20 days before serving the prelien. Obviously, since the job has been complete for some time, this won't help. To recover, you're going to have to sue the prime. If enough money is at stake, you may be able to serve a bonded stop notice on the lender. This can get pretty complicated. You'll have to find a construction law attorney. Call your local bar association for a referral.
Re: Lien Rights without 20 day notice
With very limited exception, the prelim notice is an automatic prerequisite for mechanics lien claims and stop notices if you're not in direct contract with owner. The fact that the owner "knew" about you is not relevant -- the statutes are strictly construed.
The possible exception which may apply to you are claims by labors for wages. See Civil Code 3097. If you fit into this category, I recommend that you retain the services of a local constrution attorney to evaluate and possibly pursue that claim.
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