Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>The mechanics lien I have filed in Missouri is due to expire soon. Can I refile the lien prior to expiration? Do I have to file in the same county lien was filed? Or is there a different step I should be taking?

The mechanics lien I have filed in Missouri is due to expire soon. Can I refile the lien prior to expiration? Do I have to file in the same county lien was filed? Or is there a different step I should be taking?

Lien is expiring soon and I need to know what to do next. I have not received any monies due me. And I want to know if my property manager who is in Callaway County, Missouri can continue precedings as my Agent. This would be different than original County of filling.

1 reply

May 3, 2018

That's an interesting question. However, first I'll note that an attempt to manipulate a state's mechanics lien laws might be a risky endeavor. A safer option, at least initially, might be to utilize a Notice of Intent to Foreclose (if there's time, of course). A Notice of Intent to Foreclose acts as a sort of final warning shot. It notifies an owner that, if the claimant does not receive payment very soon, the mechanics lien will be foreclosed. A Notice of Intent to Foreclose is not a required document, but it can be effective to put the pressure on an owner to make payment. If there isn't time to send a Notice of Intent to Foreclose, or if it isn't sent for some other reason, typically the next step is to file suit to enforce a mechanics lien. That's what the lien "expiration" deadline typically refers to - the time before which a lien enforcement action must be filed. Changing gears to the question at hand - it may be possible to release and refile a mechanics lien if the refiling can be done within the deadline to file a mechanics lien. In such a situation, presumably, if the refiled lien was recorded prior to the lien filing deadline (6 months from last furishing), a claimant might be able to "extend" their deadline to enforce a lien. The deadline to enforce a mechanics lien is tied to date the lien was filed - not the last furnishing date. So, conceivably, a properly refiled lien would create a new deadline to enforce the new lien - 6 months from the refiling. Again, it's worth noting that this would be a risky endeavor - a court could disallow any acrobatics utilized to alter deadlines.

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