Category: Insights

The Dangers of an Unlicensed Contractor from Every Angle The State of California requires that contractors in the building trades … Continued

The California Mechanics Lien is one of the most valuable collection devices available to contractors, subcontractors and suppliers who are unpaid for work performed and materials supplied in relation to a California Private Works project. The mechanics lien allows the claimant to sell the property where the work was performed in order to obtain payment. The process starts with the recording of a mechanics lien in the office of the County Recorder where the property in question is located. As noted below, certain deadlines must be met.

I was recently contacted by a commercial building owner in the process of trying to sell the building. Two years prior to this, a subcontractor had recorded a mechanics’ lien with the local County Recorder’s office in relation to the owner’s property. The subcontractor recorded the mechanics lien after the subcontractor was not paid by a prime contractor for work the subcontractor had performed on the property. Unfortunately for the subcontractor, the subcontractor then failed to file a lawsuit to foreclose on the lien within the requisite ninety (90) day time period for filing a lawsuit to foreclose on the mechanics’ lien. Since the subcontractor missed this 90 day deadline to file the mechanics lien foreclosure lawsuit, the mechanics lien expired.

The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) came into effect on January 1, 2024, impacting numerous small businesses throughout the United States. The claimed objective of the CTA is to address the covert nature of corporate ownership, a facet exploited for various illicit activities such as money laundering, terrorism financing, and other financial wrongdoings. Under the newly enacted legislation, businesses meeting specific but common criteria are obligated to submit a Beneficial Ownership Information (“BOI”) Report to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”).

The California mechanics’ lien is a powerful tool for contractors, subcontractors and materials suppliers to secure payment of unpaid construction-related debts. A contractor, subcontractor or materials supplier is allowed a lien on real property, based on the value they add to the property during the construction process.

Is the title to this article possibly true? Yes, absolutely! I have seen it happen. Let me tell you how it happens so you can avoid such a result.

It is not uncommon in the construction industry for an out-of-state general contractor to include a provision in a subcontract requiring a California subcontractor to resolve disputes outside the state of California even though the work is to be performed within California. Fortunately, most California subcontractors are immune from this tactic. California law generally prohibits clauses requiring subcontractors to travel outside California to resolve construction disputes.

Most in the construction industry are familiar with the rules of California mechanics’ liens. They know that the Preliminary Notice of Civil Code Section 8034 and 8200-8216 is often the foundational document and that the deadline to record a mechanics’ lien is generally triggered by events occurring at the end of construction, including completion of the work of improvement and the recording of the notice of completion or notice of cessation. Most of these rules are found in California Civil Code sections 8160-8494.