I work for a general contractor and our subcontractor has filed a mechanic's lien and they have been paid in full. They have sent over an unconditional final release but they are stating that they won't file to release the mechanic's lien. They will send over the unrecorded release and they want us to file it with the county. Is this legal?
It is the subcontractor’s responsibility to record a release of lien. If they refuse to do so the two most practical options are to:
1. Obtain a notarized release of lien from them and record it yourself.
2. Wait until the 90 days to foreclose the lien expires (they won’t foreclose because they have been paid) and then per 8482, demand that they record a release of lien because the lien is no longer valid per Cal Civil Code 8460. In this demand you can state that if they fail to remove the lien you will file a motion under Cal Civil Code 8480 to have the lien released and sanctions imposed against the subcontractor for the costs to do so. If another 10 days passes and they still fail to release the lien then go ahead with the motion under Cal Civil Code 8480 which is a summary proceeding that is normally resolved within 30 days.