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can I file a lien without preliminary notice?

I'm a subcontractor, that is doing work for Utopia Development. We did not file a preliminary notice since we finish the project right away and the customer had told us he will pay right away. Well, it has been over 4 months and we have not received payment for that project and two more that followed. What can we do since they are avoiding to pay?

1 reply

Mar 4, 2020

California has strict notice and lien rules and requirements that must be met. In order to retain the ability to file a valid lien in California, all project participants are required to provide a preliminary notice, although parties who contract directly with the property owner are only required to send preliminary notice to the construction lender, if any. In order to fully protect the value of the labor and/or material furnished to the project, the notice must be given within 20 days from first furnishing. If that timeline is missed, the notice can be sent late, but will only work to protect the labor or materials furnished beginning 20 days prior to the date on which the notice was sent. Accordingly, if the date of last furnishing was more than 20 days prior to when the notice would be sent, it is too late, and the ability to protect the work through filing a valid and enforceable mechanics lien is no longer an appropriate option. While county recorders generally do not act as gatekeepers to bar the filing of liens that will ultimately be unenforceable, it is never a good idea to knowingly file an invalid or otherwise inappropriate mechanics lien. When lien protection is unavailable, the usual best path for recovery is through a lawsuit. However, if the time and expense of a full blown lawsuit is not the path you want to take, referring the project to an outside collections firm, or (if the amount meets the jurisdictional limits) looking into filing a small claims court case can also potentially be effective paths.

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