Legal Question in Construction Law in California

Re: Can they really put a mechanics lein on my house

If they do indeed file a mechanic's lien, and it is improper, you have an action for slander of title and breach of contract

Re: Can they really put a mechanics lein on my house

Under the facts as presented the answer is, "The electrician can file a lien but he will not be able to successfully foreclose on that lien." But, all answers in law come with caveats.

A brief lesson in liens, terribly truncated: First, anyone without a direct contract with the owner of the property must have first served a 20 day preliminary notice for a lien to be effective. Second, virtually any tradesperson who has put labor or materials into a property can record a lien. The great question is whether that lien will be valid. There are numerous deadlines to meet. For the most part, for a lien to be valid, it must be recorded within 90 days of work being completed. I have greatly simplified this rule. There are interpretations and exceptions all over the map, but 90 days is the most general rule. Third, once a lien has been recorded, the person who recorded the lien has 90 days to foreclose on that lien. Foreclosure is the process of actually filing a lawsuit.

Now, back to your question. Under the facts that you presented I'm assuming that work was completed much longer than 90 days before the recording of the lien. If this is so, the lien, while it can be recorded, cannot be successfully foreclosed. There is a fairly quick procedure for removing an invalid lien, plus the statute allows the homeowner up to $1000 in attorney's fees for having to remove the lien. An experienced construction law attorney should be able to draft the paperwork and appear in court to remove the lien for this amount. If, however, there are any complications, the price could go up, sometimes rather dramatically. (If you don't need to re-finance or sell your house, though, perhaps you can live with the lien.)

Re: Can they really put a mechanics lein on my house

Let me add my two cents to the information my colleagues have provided.

Based on what you've told us, the electrician's lien is stale and therefore void.

There are a few prerequisites to being able to perfect and foreclose on a mechanics lien, and the fact pattern you've given shows that several are missing.

First, it sounds like you contracted directly with the electrical contractor. Under the Mechanics Lien Law, that makes them an "original contractor." As such, before recording their claim of lien they must complete the contract unless performance is otherwise excused. Here it sounds like the abandoned the project without excuse, thus losing one element of any claim they must prove.

Next, the lien was probably recorded much too late. An original contractor has, at the most, 90 days after a cessation of labor to record its claim of lien. Failure to record the lien within the statutory time frames renders the lien void.

Also, for the lien to remain alive, the lien claimant must file suit to foreclose within 90 days of the date they record the lien. If not, the lien is stale, and if the claimant refuses to voluntarily release the lien, the owner may petition the court for an order releasing the property from the lien. Should the owner prevail, the court can also award attorneys fees up to $1,000.00.

You may be wondering how and why they could record a lien as they have. The county recorder's office accepts liens for filing based on the request of the claimant. They do not - cannot - conduct an independent investigation to insure the contractor has complied with the mechanic's lien law.

So, based on what you've told us, I strongly suspect the lien is no good. The sad part is that you may be required to engage counsel to assist you in having the cloud on title removed.

Please feel free to contact me with further questions or comments.

Tom Newton

Now the inevitable caveat:

The foregoing information is provided as an accommodation only, and does not constitute specific legal advice or a biding legal opinion based on a comprehensive review of all relevant facts, nor can provision of such information be construed as creating an attorney-client relationship.