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Question: Washington Mechanics Lien and Model Disclosure Statement

Good afternoon! I recently filed a Washington State Mechanics Lien on a homeowner that owes our company money for services rendered in the amount of $5,422.32. The Mechanics Lien has not been filed yet. I unfortunately did not have the homeowner sign a Model Disclosure Statement before the work commenced. I was not aware that we had to do this. Lesson learned. Do we still have lien rights? I did, however, send a Preliminary Notice to the owner but only after I sent the Intent to Lien. 1) First - I sent the Intent To Lien 2) Second - I sent the Preliminary Notice 3)Third - Filed a Mechanics Lien Should I retract the Mechanics Lien if its not going to protect us? Will the Preliminary Notice Suffix our rights to Lien even though it was sent out of order? Without the Model Disclosure being sent first I am concerned that the Mechanics Lien won't stick. I am hoping that the Preliminary Notice will help preserve at least some of our lien rights. I would love your feedback. Thanks, Lisa

1 reply

Apr 27, 2020

Washington contractors hired directly by the property owner will need to send a Model Disclosure Statement in order to preserve their lien rights for commercial and residential projects exceeding $1,000. And, if the Model Disclosure Notice was required but not sent, then lien rights generally will not be available. Some other Washington notices can be sent late and still be at least partially effective. But, it doesn't look like that same leniency is afforded for the Model Disclosure Notice - so sending notice well beyond the start of the job likely won't save any lien rights.

Flawed mechanics lien claims can still lead to payment

It's not a good idea to intentionally file a mechanics lien when you know you've missed requirements. But, if you've filed a lien and later discover that a missed notice might render your lien claim invalid - that doesn't necessarily mean you should sprint to have the lien released. Mechanics liens usually don't make it to a formal legal dispute, and most liens won't result in lawsuits. So, it's possible that an owner will still make payment even if there is some flaw with the lien. That means waiting it out to see how the owner responds to your mechanics lien claim may be a good idea. If they do raise the issue of a missed notice, or if it does look like there will be a formal lien challenge or that enforcing the lien would be necessary, then a lien claimant can always release their lien and pursue some other recovery method. Tools like a payment demand letter, a breach of contract claim, or even sending the debt to collections could all be other options for getting paid.

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