Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Is a mechanics lien valid with oral contract

If you came from Ohio, chances are pretty good you don't have a California contractor's license, especially one that would cover all the crafts in which you engaged. Unlicensed contractors aren't entitled to mechanic's liens. They can, hoever, be prosecuted for misdemeanor violation of the licensing laws. So, the fact that you had an oral contract is not likely your biggest problem.

If you can get around the license problem somehow, you still probably cannot enforce the oral contract. This is not because it is a contract for transfer of an interest in real property, which must be in writing. Your contract is only a contract for services, the price of which is to be measured by the selling price. The enforcement problem would arise under Business and Professions Code sections 7151 to 7164 relating to home improvement contracts. The Code requires such contracts to be in writing, but I think a good lawyer could find a way to get you paid at least the fair value of your work, if not the full agreed amount, based on some case law I've peeked at, partly based on the mother-son relationship which creates a sort of special situation. However, I'd say the lack of a license would be fatal to any effort to get payment through lawsuit.