Hello, I have an invalid mechanics lien on my property I need removed. A contractor filed it after his email was hacked. He had fraudulent payment instructions sent from his account and claims he was not paid. However the funds were sent via instructions from his email to a bank account with his business name. I have an open police investigation with a local detective. The banks will not refund my money so he put a lien on my property. I need this lien removed as I need to apply for a home equity loan and possibly sell in the near future. He did not file a preliminary 20 day notice and he did not file a notice of completion. He filed this invalid lien 90 days after completion. The hack and fraudulent information is his liability and he is causing me a lot of financial harm with this lien. It is for $25,000 which I paid. I am not paying him again. Thank you.
You need to file a petition to expunge the lien. The good news is that you can get your attorneys' fees for having to file the petition, assumng the court awards it. If you would like to discuss, give me a call. Thanks, Andrew
Based on the timing in which the lien was recorded, in California you can file a petition for removal of the lien as untimely. If granted, the lien will be removed and you can recover attorney's fees for filing the motion.