Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>What constitutes completion?

What constitutes completion?

Given the owner does NOT record a Notice of Completion or Cessation. When the deadline to file a California Mechanics Lien is within 90 days after completion of the work of improvement, I don’t understand the definition of “completion”. It may not be well defined, and possibly there are some loose interpretations. If my work is substantially complete, but not all is finished, and I return at the direction of the general contractor to complete a significant size of the work remaining, does the 90-day deadline commence from that day? If I return to repair damaged caused by others, after my work was completed, does the 90-day deadline recommence from that day? If I do a minor repair, does the 90-day deadline recommence from that day? If I come back several weeks after completing my work to perform a warranty repair, does the 90-day deadline recommence from that day? I just don’t know what constitutes completion and the 90-day cutoff. Thank you for your help.

1 reply

Sep 5, 2019

Generally, you can refer here for answers: https://www.levelset.com/mechanics-lien/california-lien-law-faqs/ Specifically take note of: California Mechanics Lien Deadline Runs from Completion of Project as a Whole In California, the deadline to file a mechanics lien runs from the completion of the project as a whole, not the completion of an individual claimant’s work. While this generally extends the time period in which a lien may be filed compared to a deadline based on the claimant’s last furnishing, it can make knowing the actual deadline difficult. This is a great reason for parties like laborers to send a preliminary notice even if not technically required, since sending a California preliminary notice means that the party is supposed to be notified of the filing of a notice of completion or cessation. Regarding your question; If I come back several weeks after completing my work to perform a warranty repair, does the 90-day deadline recommence from that day? Even in the absence of a Notice of Completion/Cessation, there should be memorialized (perhaps mutually signed) communication between the project owner and the GC establishing some mutuality on project completion. If your return to the site takes place after the mutually-agreed completion date to conduct repairs that are beyond the scope of the completed project, and thus may be justifiably billed as wholly separate work by your company, you should obtain the owner's consent for said repairs, including a separate signed quote for same. If the request for the repairs is coming from the GC as a punch-list addition to the original project, there should be a memorialized understanding on whether the repairs are subject to a chargeable or non-chargeable change-order (contractual) provision or established project protocol. Regardless, any punch-list work within the scope of the original project will restart the 90-day clock to file your lien; 30 days if a notice of completion/cessation was filed. If the deadline to file your lien expired before the additional repairs were requested and your work is technically billable (not subject to any written or implied warranty), again, you should obtain a wholly separate signed quote before conducting the work. My apologies for any inaccurate assumptions. I may be able to provide more relevant feedback with the benefit of specific project dynamics. If you'd like to chat further, feel free to give me a call.

0 people found this helpful

Helpful