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Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>1. after filing the intent to foreclose on and enforce the lien, how soon does a lawsuit have to be filed.

1. after filing the intent to foreclose on and enforce the lien, how soon does a lawsuit have to be filed.

CaliforniaLien DeadlinesLien ForeclosureMechanics Lien

I am a contractor working on personal property construction projects. We filed a lien, then within 90 days filed the intent to foreclose and enforce and then a lawsuit. 1. Our attorney says the lawsuit needed to be filed within the same 90 day period and because it was not (it was about 30 days later), the lien is no longer valid and we should file a release on the lien to avoid other court charges if the client is able to have lien released in court. Is this accurate? 2. I have been told that we can refile the lien... is this true and how soon after filing the release? 3. Can you refer an attorney in our area that better understands liens, filings and can file law suits for us?

2 replies

Sep 24, 2020

Enforcement deadline for California mechanics liens

Once a California mechanics lien has been filed, it is only valid for a period of 90 days. If no action to enforce the claim is filed (i.e. a lawsuit) within that timeframe, the claim expires and is not longer enforceable. Your attorney is correct. Furthermore, once the deadline to enforce a claim has expired, so have your lien rights regarding the labor and/or materials provided under that contract. Refiling a lien for payment under a contract where lien rights have already expired would be improper. A lien may be released and refiled, but only if the claimant is still within their 90-day window for filing a CA lien.

Notice of Intent to Foreclose

A Notice of Intent to Foreclose is not an actual (required) step in the California mechanics lien process. Rather, it's a final warning letter to the property owner that if you don't receive payment within a certain period of time, the you will file an enforcement/foreclosure action. This is an optional letter that many contractors use to induce payment before having to go through the hassle of filing a lawsuit to enforce their claims.

Lien releases in California

Generally, once a lien claim has expired, the claimant will be required to file a lien release. And usually, the property owner will send a written demand for the lien be removed. Upon failure to do so, a property owner can file a petition with the court to get the expired claim removed. If this occurs, it can make the claimant liable for any costs, attorney fees, or actual damages caused by the failure to release the claim.

Other options for recovery

Although the time to enforce your lien rights have passed, your rights to recovery are not completely lost. You still have legal rights to payment against your hiring party for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and claims under CA prompt payment laws.

Help with managing your mechanics lien rights

We have a ton of California-based construction attorneys in our Expert Center Community that you can reach out to personally for any assistance in filing and assisting in your foreclosure lawsuits. As far as help with managing your lien rights, Levelset offers a wide array of services from sending preliminary notices, exchanging lien waivers, filing mechanics liens, and more on behalf of contractors across the US.
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Sep 25, 2020

Yes, you have 90 days after recording a lien to file suit. If you miss that deadline, the lien is void. You can record a new lien so long as you do so within 30 days after recordation of a Notice of Completion, or 90 days after completeion of the entire project (if no Notice of Completion has been recorded). I'm in So Cal and would be happy to help: 949 954 6666 x101. Thanks, Andrew

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