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Can I file A Pre Lim If I haven’t done any work or no contract

I’m a subcontractor that has done one project for a developer and haven’t gotten paid. I was forced to file a lien on the project. They had me measure two new projects and give them the measurements and estimate. My question is, Can I prelim the 2 projects that I measured but haven’t done any work on or have a contract for? Now my belief is that I can because I provided a service and was verbally told I would be doing the next two projects. Thank you Jason

2 replies

Jun 12, 2020

Preliminary notices won't create any payment rights that aren't already there. And, to be sure, simply preparing a quote or even measuring the property won't give rise to mechanics lien rights, and it won't serve as a first furnishing when there's no contract for work yet or when the job hasn't even been offered to you. To directly answer the question: If you sent a preliminary notice after simply providing a bid and measuring the property, that notice might be effective later on if you do get the job and lien rights become available. CA is pretty lenient about sending prelims early. However, sending a prelim before being offered the job and well before when work begins might be off-putting and endanger the chances of getting that job. And, CA prelims will be fully effective as long as they're sent within 20 days after first furnishing labor or materials. That means there's plenty of time to send a prelim, especially if the work hasn't begun. So, generally, there isn't much benefit to sending notice before actually getting the contract. It won't preserve any additional rights, and it could confuse the customer or make them worry about the potential for lien claims (even though prelims don't indicate that a lien will be filed). For more discussion on California preliminary notices: - California Preliminary Notice Rules & FAQs - The Ultimate Guide to California’s 20-Day Preliminary Notice

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Jun 12, 2020

Awesome! Thank you very much, I really appreciate it

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