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Can a Private Lender file a Constitutional Mechanic's and Materialmens lien on a house without a contract?

TexasMechanics Lien

Can someone who is claiming to be a private lender of a job, file a constitutional/ mechanic's lien on the house that they are claiming to have paid for. The house is in someone else's name, and there was a contract that was agreed to but this contractor never sent home owner invoice, billing statements, etc. Nothing. The supposed private lender filed this lien and filed a law suit to try and foreclose on the house so they can strip it from the home owner. Only text messages apply here and none are between home owner and the one claiming to be private lender but a third party who claimed funds would come from a family trust.

1 reply

Sep 27, 2019
I think the answer is No, but, there might be an exception, which may or may not apply to your case.  It does not seem the lender would meet straight forward requirements of a constitutional mechanics lien, but there is this case called, In re Kleibrink, 346 B.R. 734 (Bankr.  N.D.  Tex.  2006), which suggests that a constitutional mechanics lien could be contractually assigned.   See, In re Kleibrink at page 756, note 21.  Your fact pattern does not rule out the possibility that the contractor may have assigned his lien to the third-party lender.  Could it be that the lender read the case of In re Kleibrink, and is trying to be creative?   Possibly.
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