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Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>Hi there. I have been asked to file a lien against one of our clients. Not sure if it should be against the business where the work was performed or the client directly. It is for non payment for work performed. We are the General Contractor. Thank you.

Hi there. I have been asked to file a lien against one of our clients. Not sure if it should be against the business where the work was performed or the client directly. It is for non payment for work performed. We are the General Contractor. Thank you.

CaliforniaMechanics Lien

We are the GC that performed work at a business location for our client. He has not responded to several emails or phone calls regarding the payment status on his open invoices. Partial payments of the contract amount have been paid.

1 reply

Jul 31, 2019
Nearly every participant on a California project is required to send a preliminary notice in order to retain the ability to file a valid and enforceable lien. However, a GC is only required to send a re-luminary notice when there is a construction lender associated with the project.

When required, this preliminary notice must be provided within 20 days of first furnishing labor or materials to the project in order for the claimant to be fully protected. A "late" notice is still effective to secure the value of the labor or materials furnished beginning from the date 20 days prior to the date on which the notice was given.

If the preliminary notice has been sent, or is not needed, the claimant an proceed with filing a valid and enforceable lien. You can read all about how to go about filing a California mechanics lien (and all the required information) in this handy step-by-step guide.

Mechanics liens work to secure the amount due for construction work through creating an interest in the improved property itself. This means mechanics liens are tied to the project property (not the property of any other project participant). Accordingly, the property to be identified on the lien claim (and to which the lien attaches) is the improved property itself.
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