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File a Prelim past the deadline

Good day, There are several projects that we acquired and during the transition I did not file a prelim for these projects. It's past the deadline from when we first started working on these projects. I intend to start the prelim filing process today, however I wanted to see if our payments will still be protected even though the filing will be late....? Please advise, this has become an urgent matter for us. Your help is greatly appreciated.

1 reply

Jul 9, 2020

When dealing with mechanics lien rights in California; it's better to have some, than none at all. That's the case with California preliminary notices. But, before we dive too deep into the preliminary notice rules, let's clarify some vocabulary. A California preliminary notice is only required to be served on the appropriate parties. There is no requirement to actually file a notice. Although, the law does provide an option for doing so. The only advantage to filing a preliminary notice in California is that if a Notice of Completion or Termination has been filed on the project, the clerk's office is required to notify you. But most contractors opt not to file a notice. As far as sending a preliminary notice outside of the initial first 20 days of furnishing labor or materials to the project; the notice will still be effective to secure lien rights. But there's a catch! A late notice can still be sent, but out will only secure lien rights for the value of labor or materials provided in the 20 days preceding the notice, and everything thereafter. Like I mentioned earlier, sometimes it's better to have some rights, rather than no lien protection. For more, see: The Ultimate Guide to California's 20-Day Preliminary Notice

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