Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>Mechanics Lean

Mechanics Lean

Hi. I rented a bobcat with a hammer bit to break a giant rock as big as a car on my girl friends property in the state of Rhode Island. It was a one day rental. I had the machine for the weekend because they were closed on Sundays. The machine had a hydraulic oil leak and the switch to turn off the hammer function malfunctioned. The Bobcat was not able to break the rock like the rental company had mentioned it would. I did complain about this to them. They did let me use another bobcat the following weekend with no extra charge. This time after about three hours of use the bobcat started leaking hydraulic fluid. I had to stop using it. I told the company I'm not able to get what I want done because there equipment keeps giving me problems. They checked out the bobcat and said I tilted the machine to much and that damage the hose on the machine. I don't agree with that. I did ask for half my money back because I couldn't get anything done. The price was $1,100.00. My question is if I dispute this with my credit card company do I have to worry about the Rental company putting a mechanic lean on my girl friends house? I don't know how this works. I use my credit card for the transaction and I live in the state of Connecticut which is not far from her home to help her out. Being that I paid for it with my credit card can they put a lean on her house? Thanks, Mike

1 reply

Nov 1, 2019

Mechanics lien rights are generally available for those who provide labor, material, or equipment which permanently improves the project property. So, an equipment rental company who rents equipment that's used to improve property will generally be entitled to file a mechanics lien if they go unpaid for their equipment rental. However, mechanics lien rights arise against project property when the property is improved. This is because the lien right arises as a result of the value received by the property. So, in a situation where equipment was rented but work wasn't actually done which would improve the property, mechanics lien rights generally wouldn't arise. Keep in mind, though, that other recovery options - such as breach of contract - could certainly still be available to an equipment rental company, regardless of whether lien rights are available. Further, note that just because a resulting lien claim might be invalid and unenforceable doesn't necessarily mean that one won't be filed. County recorder offices typically have neither the bandwidth nor the authority to investigate each lien claim that's filed. So, it's possible a lien claimant might end up filing a lien on the property even where there's a flaw with that lien. Here are two resources that might be valuable if the dispute escalates some: - I Just Received a Notice of Intent to Lien – What Should I Do Now? - A Mechanics Lien Was Filed on My Property – What Do I Do Now?

0 people found this helpful

Helpful