Law Brief: Lien Times: Securing Mechanics Liens for Preconstruction Services
Benefits of a Stop Notice for Construction Contractors
Hot to Get Paid: Tips and Tricks for Construction Companies in DC, MD, and VA
In a recent case, the California Court of Appeal held that a contractor could foreclose a mechanic's lien, over the project owner's objection, even though the contractor had not provided a preliminary notice of lien to the...more
Welcome to the Third Issue of Sullivan’s Zoning and Development Newsletter- This newsletter is a collaboration between members of our Permitting & Land Use Practice Group and the Litigation Department, in order to provide...more
Recently, the Oregon Court of Appeals reinstated a contractor’s mechanics lien claim notwithstanding the owner’s offer of payment because the offer was conditioned on the contractor signing a broad lien waiver that would have...more
Those in the DC metro area construction industry should take heed of a recent District of Columbia Court of Appeals opinion that sheds additional light on the District’s mechanic’s lien statute – King Carpentry Inc. v. 1345 K...more
On August 5, 2020, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed a new law, Senate Bill 315, changing Georgia’s lien law statute, O.C.G.A. 44-14-366. The new statute, effective January 1, 2021, makes clear that lien waivers only waive...more
Like many states, Minnesota requires subcontractors and suppliers to send pre-lien notices to owners to perfect mechanic’s lien rights. Failure to comply with the pre-lien notice statute can prove fatal to a lien enforcement...more
In a recent decision, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (SJC) has held that a contractor seeking to enforce a lien dissolution bond under G.L. c. 254 § 14 need not record an attested to copy of its complaint with...more
Ferrara v. Peaches Café LLC, 2018 NY Lexis 3244 (November 20, 2018) - COR Ridge Road Company, LLC (“COR”), as landlord, entered into a 10 year lease with Peaches Café, LLC (“Peaches”). ...more
The Third District Court of Appeal recently held that completion under the mechanics lien statute requires actual completion of the work of improvement, meaning completion of the entire structure or scheme of improvement as a...more
A “Morris agreement” between a title insured and mechanics lien claimants was unenforceable, because the agreement wasn’t an arms-length transaction, and the settlement left the insured without any risk of personal liability,...more
Appellate Court Advance Release Opinions - AC36506 - Sidorova v. East Lyme Board of Education - Due to budget cuts, the Board of Education laid off the plaintiff who was a tenured French teacher. She sued for...more
In a recent decision written by Judge Sykes, affirming a decision from the Western District of Wisconsin, in an issue governed by Wisconsin law, the Seventh Circuit ruled that a title insurer has no duty to indemnify a...more
On February 25, 2015, the Alberta Court of Appeal released its decision in Tervita Corporation v. ConCreate USL (GP) Inc. In that case, the court was required to determine whether a builders’ lien registered by Tervita...more
Recently, in Marco Crane & Rigging Co. v. Masaryk, 703 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 29 (Dec. 30, 2014), the Arizona Court of Appeals established that a subcontractor on a residential project has no lien rights against an owner-occupant,...more
In an opinion published in September 2014, entitled Moorefield Construction, Inc. v. Intervest Mortgage Investment Company, et al., D065464, the California Court of Appeal held an original contractor can contractually waive...more
On August 27, in In re Heritage Consolidated, L.L.C., the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted subcontractor’s lien rights to two oil and gas drilling contractors. The Court reversed a district court ruling which upheld a...more
The California Court of Appeal recently held that a foreclosure by the beneficiary under a first deed of trust extinguished a junior lien, even though the beneficiary acquired the property by way of a deed in lieu of...more
In February 2013 the Supreme Court of Virginia handed down its decision in Jack Bays, a mechanic’s lien lawsuit involving the landowner, several lenders, the general contractor and no fewer than eleven subcontractors....more