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If I never received a copy of the lien by certified mail, even though the contractor says he has proof he sent it, can the contractor legally perfect the lien?

GeorgiaMechanics Lien

Contractor filed a mecahnics lien against my property, but I never received a copy of thr lien by certified mail, so the contractor never got my signature thatI received the copy of the lien by certified mail. But the contractor says it didn't matter that I didn't receive it because he has proof he sent it. Doesn't that negate the obvious reason that it is required to send a copy by certified mail so that the homeowner is supposed to receive it?

2 replies

Apr 9, 2019

That's a good question, and it's one we get fairly often at the Construction Legal Center. § 44-14-361.1(2) of the Georgia mechanics lien statute sets out the notice requirement for filed lien claims. It states, in part, "No later than two business days after the date the claim of lien is filed of record, the lien claimant shall send a true and accurate copy of the claim of lien by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery to the owner of the property or, if the owner’s address cannot be found, the contractor, as the agent of the owner; provided, however, if the property owner is an entity on file with the Secretary of State’s Corporations Division, sending a copy of the claim of lien to the entity’s address or the registered agent’s address shall satisfy this requirement." Based on that section, it does not appear that actual receipt of the notice of the lien filing is required by statute. Rather, the notice must be sent as required by § 44-14-361.1(2). If the notice was sent as required to the party or parties it was required to go to, presumably, based on the Georgia mechanics lien statute, sending the notice should be enough to satisfy the notice requirement after filing a lien. For more information on Georgia's lien and notice requirements, and for the text of the GA mechanics lien statute itself, this resource should be valuable: Georgia Lien & Notice Overview.

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Jul 4, 2022

So you are trying to avoid paying? Thats pretty unprofessional. How about you just pay the guy?

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