My general contractor buys the roofing materials and stocks them at his shop. He sells them to his customers when needed in portion. I am not informed about those shipments when they land at the job site. In this case, how do i prelim the job?
1 reply
Jan 26, 2018
It is difficult to provide relevant information related to this question because there is some information missing that potentially makes it a bit confusing. It appears that you are a supplier of roofing materials (working with a particular GC). Materials are supplied to the GC in bulk, and then the GC uses the materials on multiple projects over time with no other communication to you regarding when the materials are delivered to a particular job site.
If this is correct, it brings to mind a couple of potential issues. First, whether the GC is actually acting as a GC or if they are acting as a supplier to a different party. This could be crucial, because in California a supplier to supplier generally doesn't have lien rights at all (although the determination of who is classified as a supplier to supplier can be a difficult and fact intensive endeavor). To the extent that the GC is acting as a GC, a supplier would have lien rights, and preliminary notices deadlines are crucial.
In a best case scenario, information would be obtained from the GC related to the delivery of the material to the project, and a prelim could be sent within 20 days of the delivery to a particular project. However, if the actual projects are known when the material is delivered to the GC, it is potentially possible to provide notice at that time. Since the property owner is a required recipient of a California preliminary notice, it can't be provided until there is actually a job - so if the materials are supplied in bulk prior to the start of the individual jobs, notice must be sent when the jobs actually start. That would likely require some communication with your GC customer.