Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>I signed an unconditional finial payment waiver for a job in 2017. The job was completed and a new purchase order was submitted. Is the previous unconditional waiver valid and can it be applied to the new purchase order?

I signed an unconditional finial payment waiver for a job in 2017. The job was completed and a new purchase order was submitted. Is the previous unconditional waiver valid and can it be applied to the new purchase order?

CaliforniaLien Waivers

In 7/2017 our customer Elicc Corporation restricted the payment of their remaining balance of $250K to the signature of the waiver attached. By then we didn’t have your services so we signed it. Now in 2018 they sent some orders for the same project where we already signed the final unconditional waiver.

1 reply

Feb 2, 2018

Unfortunately, the answer to this question isn't a simple yes or no. Ultimately, whether lien rights will exist will depend on the language of the waiver signed - if the final unconditional waiver waives lien rights up via a through date, only the rights up to that date will be waived. However, if the language of the waiver purports to wave any and all lien rights (regardless of date) resulting from an agreement between the parties on a particular project, then it's possible that a waiver could even waive work done after the final unconditional waiver. Luckily, California is a state where statutory form is required (well, at least in a form that substantially follows the statutory form). Under the form prescribed by § 8138 of the California mechanics lien statute (which controls the form of final unconditional lien waivers there), "This document waives and releases lien, stop payment notice, and payment bond rights the claimant has for all labor and service provided, and equipment and material delivered, to the customer on this job. Rights based upon labor or service provided, or equipment or material delivered, pursuant to a written change order that has been fully executed by the parties prior to the date that this document is signed by the claimant, are waived and released by this document..." The waiver waives rights for "all labor and service provided, and equipment and material delivered" (past tense), and it covers "Rights based upon labor or service provided, or equipment or material delivered, pursuant to a written change order that has been fully executed by the parties prior to the date that this document is signed..." Thus, it would appear as though there's a strong argument that the waiver does not waive prospective lien rights that would arise under a new purchase order or change order.

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