This customer put a stop payment on the check and I have been trying to work things out with him but that is getting me nowhere. Work was performed on 1/15/2022 I got the notice of stop payment in March. Is it too late to file a mechanics lien?
1 reply
Jul 13, 2022
Did you send a valid and timely preliminary 20-day notice within 20 days of when the work was performed? That is the first question you need to answer. If there is no valid and timely notice, there are no mechanic's lien rights. Assuming you sent a preliminary 20-day notice, the next question is whether recording the lien now would be timely. To be timely, a lien must be recorded not later than 120 days measured from the date of completion of the project. For purposes of establishing a lien, completion means the earliest of: (1) 30 days after final inspection and written final acceptance by the governmental body issuing the building permit; (2) Cessation of labor for a period of 60 consecutive days, except when such cessation is due to a strike, shortage of materials or act of God; or (3) if no building permit is issued or if the governmental body that issued the building permit does not issue final inspections and written final acceptances, then completion means the last date on which any labor, materials, fixtures or tools were furnished to the property. So whether you can record a lien depends on all of the above.