We are owed over 12K on product we sold to a company. We have not received payment so we lien the property. Can the Filing fees of the lien be then charged to our customer?
1 reply
Feb 8, 2018
The filing fees cannot be included in the amount of the lien claim itself. A California lien is limited to the reasonable value of the work provided by the claimant, or the price agreed to by the claimant and the person who contracted for the work (less payments already received). But, that's not the end of the story.
In an enforcement action, the lien claimant is entitled to having the court award the filing fees as costs to the prevailing party. California requires that "In addition to any other costs allowed by law, the court in an action to enforce a lien shall allow as costs to each claimant whose lien is established the amount paid to verify and record the claim of lien, whether the claimant is a plaintiff or defendant." [emphasis added]
So, while the costs can't be included in the lien, they can be recovered.