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Can I place a Mechanics Lein without a written contract?

I did not have a signed contract only a verbal agreement with a client. I completed work on the property. Now that the project is done the homeowner is only willing to pay the amount that was verbally agreed to. Do I have the option of placing a Mechanics Lien on the property?

2 replies

Dec 23, 2021

It sounds like you are a prime contractor under Wisconsin law. 779.02(2) requires prime contractors to include a "Preliminary Notice" in either the initial written contract or deliver to the owner within 10 days of first providing labor, services, materials, etc. There are a few exceptions to this notice requirement that are explained in 779.02(1) and include (a) any laborer or mechanic employed by any prime contractor or subcontractor; (b) by any lien claimant who has contracted directly with the owner for the labor, services, materials, plans, or specifications performed, furnished, or procured, unless the claimant is a prime contractor subject to the notice requirement of sub. (2)(a); (c) By any lien claimant performing, furnishing, or procuring labor , services, materials, plans, or specifications for an improvement in any case where more than 4 family living units are to be provided or added by such work of improvement, if the improvement is wholly residential in character, or in any case where the improvement is partly or wholly nonresidential in character; (d) By any prime contractor who is personally an owner of the land to be improved, by any corporate prime contractor of which an owner of the land is an officer or controlling shareholder, by any prime contractor who is an officer or controlling shareholder of a corporation which is an owner of the land or by any corporate prime contractor managed or controlled by substantially the same persons who manage or control a corporation which is an owner of the land; (e) By any lien claimant, other than a prime contractor, who performs, furnishes, or procures labor , services, materials, plans, or specifications for an improvement on a project on which the prime contractor is not required to give notice under this section. In short, unless you fall into one of these enumerated exceptions, your lien claim may fail. If you would like to discuss further, please feel free to reach out through my website, michaeljohnsonlegal.com

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Aug 2, 2022

I was asked to work on a cable skidder that had been abandoned by it's crew. It sat in the middle of a farmers field for 3 months when I started to fix it. The agreement with the owner was that I could purchase this for"scrap price" after work was completed. The former crew destroyed this skidder and would sneak on property to steal it's parts. One being it's drive shaft. I'm still working on it and it's been 2 years. Now he's going to take it back.

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