Legal Question in Construction Law in Minnesota

Re: Mechanics Lien Statement

You appear to be right; 120 days would be 9/16...since that was a Saturday the contractor would have needed to serve & file by Monday the 18th at the latest. If the contractor truly hasn't filed yet, the lien is just a piece of paper. The contractor theoretically could try to record the lien, but if it uses 5/19 as the LDOW the recorder in theory should reject it if s/he is on his/her toes. If the recorder doesn't reject it, then the contractor's lien as filed would expose it to a claim for slander of title.

And even if the contractor filed timely, if the lien wasn't served (personally or deposited inthe mail as certified mail) on or before the 18th, the lien is invalid. You don't say whether the lien came by certified mail, but if it didn't, the contractor is out of luck on that basis as well.

Finally, you don't say whether the contractor gave pre-lien notice...but if he did not, that's another reason for invalidating the lien.

If you are certain the contractor has not recorded the lien (keep checking; in some counties it can take several weeks for documents to actually show up on the record), you can simply ignore the lien. Of course, the contractor can still sue....

Standard disclaimer: The comments above are based on limited facts and should not be considered legal advice. We do not have an attorney-client relationship. That said, let me know if there's anything I can do to help. Have a good weekend!