Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>I share a driveway with a neighbor. I replaced the driveway and she has never offered to pay her half. She is now selling her home and I have tendered her the bill for half which she refuses to pay. Can I file a lien for payment? Thank you.
I share a driveway with a neighbor. I replaced the driveway and she has never offered to pay her half. She is now selling her home and I have tendered her the bill for half which she refuses to pay. Can I file a lien for payment? Thank you.
I share a driveway with a neighbor. I replaced the driveway and she has never offered to pay her half. She is now selling her home and I have tendered her the bill for half which she refuses to pay. Can I file a lien for payment? Thank you.
1 reply
Oct 30, 2018
That's an interesting situation. First, it's worth noting that, traditionally, mechanics liens are for contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and other participants in the construction industry for work authorized, performed, and unpaid. Generally, parties who merely fund a project will not be entitled to file a mechanics lien for their efforts on a job. Of course, where work is actually performed by the potential claimant, things become a little less clear. But still - in order for work to give rise to a mechanics lien claim, that work must be authorized by the property owner whose property will be liened, and the property being liened must have been improved. Thus, unless the project was set out by or agreed to by the property owner, and unless that owner agreed to pay for the work done to their property, work would likely not give rise to mechanics lien rights. Further, Missouri requires certain documentation be exchanged prior to receiving payment (and prior to filing a mechanics lien). Finally, it's important to keep Missouri's deadline to file a lien in mind - in Missouri, a mechanics lien must be filed within 6 months after the last date the claimant furnished labor and/or materials. In a situation where a mechanics lien might not be the most appropriate remedy for recovering payment, that does not mean that there's no opportunity for recovery - and that doesn't necessarily mean that some type of lien won't be appropriate. However, our expertise lies in construction payment and mechanics liens - for further information regarding what options might be available to recover under the above situation, the attorneys at Avvo, Justia, and Lawyers.com might be able to provide more insight. Alternatively, hiring a local real estate attorney could be helpful to determine what options are available for moving forward.