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Notice of project completion timing?

We filed a 20 day notice on September 21 for work completed in September. The project started earlieNotice of project completion timing?r than that but we were paid up until that point. The project will probably complete by very early October. Is the owner and general contractor still obligated to send out a notice of completion even with that such a late filing of the 20 day notice? Just because the 20 day notice is very close to the end of the project does not remove the obligation for the owner to notify us of completion?

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Sep 28, 2020

In most cases a homeowner does not record a Notice of Completion. Those are mostly found on public jobs. Without a Notice of Completion, you have 90 days from substantial completion of the entire project (not just your work) to record a lien. It’s OK to serve a Preliminary Notice late. It covers all work done 20 days before the Preliminary Notice, and all work done after. Since you were paid up to the time you sent out the Preliminary Notice you should be fine. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have about this. Cathleen M. Curl, Esq. Law Office of Cathleen M. Curl 700 El Camino Real, Suite 200 Millbrae, CA 94030 T 650-871-5955 F 650-588-7101

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Sep 29, 2020

Hi Cathleen. Maybe I did not explain well enough. We filed a 20 day notice on September 21st to the GC and Tenant-project owner for a commercial restaurant. That should cover our work in September if we go back 20 days. We were paid for work up until August 1st. If the project also closed let's say September 21st I should still receive a notice of cessation and based on that mailing date we would have 30 days to file a lien if not paid correct? We could not find the actual building owner until September 28th and sent a registered 20 day notice to them as well. We should still expect to get a Notice of Cessation and have 30 days from the receipt of it? Is the Owner the one who sends the Notice of completion and cessation or should the GC or tenant for the restaurant also be responsible? Finally, what evidence do I need to show when we actually did working on the project . In other words there was some work in August which would be older than 20 days but some work in September which would fall under the 20 notice and a potential lien? Regards

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Sep 29, 2020

Cathleen, this is not a home owner it is a commercial private project in California. We were paid up to August 1st. We did work in August then stopped short waiting on the GC materials and returned September 1st to complete. How do I demonstrate the cost of our work in August versus September if challenged. We notified (20 day) the GC and Project owner September 21st and the building owner September 28th. Who sends the Notice of Cessation and when we lien what date can I go back to? Liens go agaisnt the building owner I believe. Thanks

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Sep 30, 2020

You generally look to your time cards and material invoices, etc. to prove when the work was done. You don’t need to prove anything when you record the lien. You’d only need to prove it if the owner or tenant or GC disputes your payment and you need to file a lawsuit to enforce the lien. You must file a lawsuit to perfect your mechanic’s lien within 90 days of the recording date of the lien or the lien will expire. You can record a 2nd lien if the lien period hasn’t expired yet. Otherwise you’d have a problem.

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Oct 22, 2020

Cathleen I have not been sent a project completion notice although I can see an occupancy/final inspection on the county records for our commercial project. They have been apying on projects albeit late. I presume if I have not been sent a notification that we have up to 90 days to file a lien?

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Oct 23, 2020

Yes. It’s the homeowner who is responsible for recording a Notice of Completion, not the contractor but I rarely ever see a Notice of Completion on a residential project. Without a Notice of Completion, you have 90 days from substantial completion of the entire project to record your lien. I’m happy to answer any questions you have about this. Cathleen M. Curl, Esq. T 650-871-5955

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