Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>we had a customer who we put a lien on their home and then we released the lien, we made a mistake in our acctounting and stated that he did pay off his balance when in fact he didtnt. are we able to re lein the home?
we had a customer who we put a lien on their home and then we released the lien, we made a mistake in our acctounting and stated that he did pay off his balance when in fact he didtnt. are we able to re lein the home?
we had a customer who we put a lien on their home and then we released the lien, we made a mistake in our accounting and stated that he did pay off his balance when in fact he didnt. are we able to re lein the home? last day on job was dec 20
1 reply
Feb 26, 2019
I'm sorry to hear you've had some trouble getting paid on this project. Whether or not a claimant will be able to file another lien after originally filing, then releasing, a prior lien will typically come down to two factors: (1) Whether the deadline to file a mechanics lien has passed; and (2) the language of the document which released the originally filed lien. First, the easy part - the lien deadline. In California, the deadline to file a mechanics lien will be 90 days after the completion of the project (for a party hired directly by the property owner), and 90 days from the last furnishing date (for a party hired by someone other than the owner). That is, unless a Notice of Completion is filed. In that case, the deadline is shortened to 60 days after the Notice of Completion (for a party hired directly by the owner), or 30 days after the Notice (for parties hired by someone other than the owner). Once the deadline to file a lien has passed, regardless of whether a prior lien was recorded and released, a newly filed lien would very likely be invalid and unenforceable. For more background on the deadline for filing a California mechanics lien, these resources should be helpful: (1) Payment Rights Advisor; and (2) <strong>California Lien & Notice FAQs. Regarding the terms of the release, it'd be important to know what the terms of the release were to determine whether another lien could be filed. Often, the release of a filed lien will proclaim that the underlying debt has been completely satisfied. If that's the case, such a release might potentially prohibit a later lien filing from being valid and enforceable. On the other hand, in a situation where payment was promised in exchange for a waiver or release of lien, but not given, there may be more room for leniency.