Legal Question in Construction Law in California

Re: Valid preliminary notice

If a 20 day preliminary notice ("20 day prelim") is required, it must be served on the property owner.

No 20 day prelim is required for anyone directly in contract with the owner. For a subcontractor, a 20 day prelim is a prerequisite to recording a mechanics lien. I gather that you are a subcontractor who filed a late 20 day prelim. Based on that assumption, here's the practical result:

Your mechanics lien is NOT invalid merely because the 20 day prelim was served late. It merely means that you may not include in your claim of lien any services rendered or materials provided that occurred 21 DAYS OR MORE BEFORE YOUR 20-DAY PRELIMINARY NOTICE WAS SERVED.

Here's an example: a project starts on January 1st, and you begin your subcontract work on June 1st. On July 1st, you serve your prelim and you finish the job on August 1st. What can you include in your claim of mechanics lien? Answer: all work you did on or after June 10th. That is 20 days before the date the prelim was served. The work done between June 1st and June 9th cannot be in the claim of lien.

If you have included in your mechanics lien any sums that should not have been included, based on the above, then you should correct that asap, or your entire mechanics lien will be invalid.

Also remember that you must file suit to foreclose on that lien within 90 days of recordation, or you'll owe up to $2k in attorneys fees when an attorney expunges that lien.

I hope that helps. Call if you need clarification.