Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida
Construction Lien Law
Contractors A and B both sign a contract to perform work on Homeowners' property. The Notice of Commencement and the Claim of Lien are signed only by contractor A, but not by contractor B. Is the original Notice of Commencement invalid since it was signed by only one of the contractors? Is the Claim of Lien invalid since it was signed by only one of the contractors?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Validity of Const. Lien
Facts: Two contractors sign contract to perform work on Home. Notice of Commencement and Claim of Lien are signed only by one of contractors.
Q. Is the original Notice of Commencement invalid since it was signed by only one contractor? Is the Claim of Lien invalid since it was signed by only one of the contractors?
A. The lien is probably good. If the contractors were Joint Venturing/Partnering this job, then the act of one benefits the other. A Notice of Commencement just establishes the date a claim starts. If the notice was defective, it doesn't affect the validity of a Claim of Lien-- just the date the claim started as a possible lien.
Re: Construction Lien Law
Not necessarily. There is a case which held that an owner's failure to sign a notice of commencement does not relieve a materialman from the requirement of serving a notice
to owner in order to enforce a lien as required by section 713.06, Florida Statutes. Gulfside Properties Corp. v. Chapman
Corp., 24 Fla. L. Weekly D1676 (Fla. 1st DCA July 15, 1999). It seems to me
the same reasoning would apply.
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