Legal Question in Construction Law in California
mechanics lein
Can my contractor place a mechanics lein on my property if the work he was contracted to do has not been completed? He has threatened to do this if I do not pay him the final payment in full and sign a letter stating that he will be paid in fourteen days. Plus that the outstanding items will be addressed once he has been paid in full. He knows that I am refinancing my property!
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: mechanics lein
Yes, he can. The recording of a mechanic's lien is a privileged act. Just because he records a lien, though, doesn't mean that he will be successful in foreclosing on the lien. I'm sure he understands that placing the lien will jeopardize your ability to refinance so is doing this to pressure you to pay early. There are ways to take that pressure off. The easiest way is to purchase a mechanics lien release bond. (Call your insurance agent and see if he/she can direct you to a surety that does this.) I would then insist on taking the cost of the bond out of whatever you owe him (assuming that the lien was not legitimate).
Re: mechanics lein
He can do it. But it would be wrongful. And as such, you could move to expunge it. This is a legal procedure, and you would likely require an attorney to do it. The good news is that the relevant statute provides for recovery of your attorneys' fees (up to $2000) for a successful motion to expunge.
Based upon your facts, the contractor is asking you to do something unethical and plain wrong. He is entitled to lien your property if you don't pay him, but not if you refuse to sign a release.
He sounds like an unethical contractor. There are many. You should consider telling him that if he persists, you will file a claim against him with the Contractors State License Board, and that if he refuses to finish the job per the written contract, you will hire another contractor to finish and then sue the first guy for any extra money that you had to spend.
For further advice on your specific situation, seek out the advice of a qualified litigator with experience suing contractors.
Good luck.
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