{"id":898280,"date":"2020-12-02T12:26:01","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T19:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=898280"},"modified":"2020-12-02T12:26:06","modified_gmt":"2020-12-02T19:26:06","slug":"litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/","title":{"rendered":"Litigation Privilege Saves the Day for Mechanic\u2019s Liens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Stephen M. Tye and Lawrence S. Zucker II | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hbblaw.com\/litigation-privilege-saves-the-day-for-mechanics-liens\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Haight Brown &amp; Bonesteel<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In\u00a0<em>RGC Gaslamp v. Ehmcke Sheet Metal Co.<\/em>, the Fourth Appellate District held that a trial court properly granted an anti-SLAPP motion because the recording of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-law-utah\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mechanic\u2019s lien<\/a> is protected by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/remote-depositions-are-you-ready\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">litigation privilege<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In&nbsp;<em>RGC Gaslamp<\/em>, subcontractor Ehmcke Sheet Metal Company (\u201cEhmcke\u201d) recorded a mechanic\u2019s lien to recoup payment due for sheet metal fabrication and installation done at a luxury hotel project in downtown San Diego.&nbsp;Project owner RGC Gaslamp, LLC (\u201cRGC\u201d) recorded a release bond for the lien.&nbsp;Thereafter, Ehmcke recorded three successive mechanic\u2019s liens identical to the first, prompting RGC to sue it for quiet title, slander of title, and declaratory and injunctive relief.&nbsp;After retaining California counsel, Ehmcke then released its liens and advised it did not intend to record any more.&nbsp;Ehmcke then filed a special motion to strike under the anti-SLAPP statute (Code Civ. Proc. \u00a7 425.16.) which was granted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In considering Ehmcke\u2019s motion to strike, the trial court found Ehmcke met its moving burden because the recording of even an invalid lien is protected petitioning activity.&nbsp;Thereafter, RGC failed to make a prima facie showing that its sole remaining cause of action for slander of title could withstand application of the litigation privilege.&nbsp;RGC\u2019s appeal followed, arguing the duplicative filing of mechanic\u2019s lien after recording of a release bond is not a protected activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After extensively reviewing the mechanic\u2019s lien statutory scheme and the anti-SLAPP motions two-prong process, the Court of Appeal affirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, the Court of Appeal examined and determined that RGC\u2019s claims arose from a protected activity.&nbsp;In doing so, the Court of Appeal determined recording a mechanic\u2019s lien, including an invalid or unlawful mechanic\u2019s lien, is protected by the litigation privilege (Civil Code \u00a747(b)) because the act of recording a mechanic\u2019s lien is a prerequisite to a foreclosure action and the anti-SLAPP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Court of Appeal argued that&nbsp;<em>A.F. Brown Electrical Contractor, Inc. v. Rhino Electric Supply, Inc.<\/em>&nbsp;(2006) 137 Cal.App.4th 1118, which held serving a stop notice was only protected under the anti-SLAPP statute if done when a lawsuit related to that act was contemplated in good faith and given serious consideration, was wrongly decided because the&nbsp;<em>A.F. Brown<\/em>&nbsp;court improperly applied the anti-SLAPP analysis by requiring good faith and serious consideration when the California Supreme Court had made clear that a plaintiff is only required to make a prima facie showing of protected activity in the first prong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, the Court of Appeal determined RGC could not establish slander of title because there was no reasonable expectation any further liens would be recorded.&nbsp;The Court of Appeal held the recording of an invalid mechanic\u2019s lien was absolutely privileged because recording a mechanic\u2019s lien is a communication made as part of a judicial proceeding, Ehmcke filed and recorded its liens while improperly advised regarding California\u2019s mechanic\u2019s liens statutes and then withdrew the liens after retaining California counsel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>RGC Gaslamp is important for two reasons.&nbsp;First, there is now case law holding that recording a mechanic\u2019s lien,&nbsp;<em>even if invalid or unlawful<\/em>, is protected by the litigation privilege.&nbsp;Second,&nbsp;<em>A.F. Brown, supra<\/em>, has been questioned and service of a stop payment notice may be protected by the litigation privilege because service of a stop payment notice is a required prerequisite to a stop payment notice action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This document is intended to provide you with information about construction law related developments. The contents of this document are not intended to provide specific legal advice. If you have questions about the contents of this alert, please contact the authors. This communication may be considered advertising in some jurisdictions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stephen M. Tye and Lawrence S. Zucker II | Haight Brown &amp; Bonesteel In\u00a0RGC Gaslamp v. Ehmcke Sheet Metal Co., the Fourth Appellate District held that a trial court properly granted an anti-SLAPP motion because the recording of a mechanic\u2019s lien is protected by the litigation privilege. In&nbsp;RGC Gaslamp, subcontractor Ehmcke Sheet Metal Company (\u201cEhmcke\u201d)&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Litigation Privilege Saves the Day for Mechanic\u2019s Liens<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10772],"tags":[9895,11281,11368,441],"class_list":["post-898280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mechanics-lien-law","tag-advise-consult","tag-anti-slapp","tag-litigation-privilege","tag-mechanics-liens","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Litigation Privilege Saves the Day for Mechanic\u2019s Liens - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"trial court properly granted an anti-SLAPP motion because the recording of a mechanic\u2019s lien is protected by the litigation privilege\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Litigation Privilege Saves the Day for Mechanic\u2019s Liens - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"trial court properly granted an anti-SLAPP motion because the recording of a mechanic\u2019s lien is protected by the litigation privilege\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-02T19:26:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-02T19:26:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@adviseconsult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@adviseconsult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\"},\"headline\":\"Litigation Privilege Saves the Day for Mechanic\u2019s Liens\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-02T19:26:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-02T19:26:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/\"},\"wordCount\":651,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Advise &amp; Consult\",\"Anti-SLAPP\",\"Litigation Privilege\",\"Mechanics Liens\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Mechanics Lien Law\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/\",\"name\":\"Litigation Privilege Saves the Day for Mechanic\u2019s Liens - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-02T19:26:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-02T19:26:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"trial court properly granted an anti-SLAPP motion because the recording of a mechanic\u2019s lien is protected by the litigation privilege\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\",\"description\":\"Construction Expert Witnesses\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Advise & Consult\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png\",\"width\":162,\"height\":75,\"caption\":\"Advise & Consult\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/adviseconsult\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/204526\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MrConstructionExpert\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.expertwitnessinconstruction.com\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Litigation Privilege Saves the Day for Mechanic\u2019s Liens - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","description":"trial court properly granted an anti-SLAPP motion because the recording of a mechanic\u2019s lien is protected by the litigation privilege","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Litigation Privilege Saves the Day for Mechanic\u2019s Liens - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","og_description":"trial court properly granted an anti-SLAPP motion because the recording of a mechanic\u2019s lien is protected by the litigation privilege","og_url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/","og_site_name":"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","article_published_time":"2020-12-02T19:26:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-12-02T19:26:06+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@adviseconsult","twitter_site":"@adviseconsult","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7"},"headline":"Litigation Privilege Saves the Day for Mechanic\u2019s Liens","datePublished":"2020-12-02T19:26:01+00:00","dateModified":"2020-12-02T19:26:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/"},"wordCount":651,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Advise &amp; Consult","Anti-SLAPP","Litigation Privilege","Mechanics Liens"],"articleSection":["Mechanics Lien Law"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/","name":"Litigation Privilege Saves the Day for Mechanic\u2019s Liens - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-12-02T19:26:01+00:00","dateModified":"2020-12-02T19:26:06+00:00","description":"trial court properly granted an anti-SLAPP motion because the recording of a mechanic\u2019s lien is protected by the litigation privilege","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/litigation-privilege-saves-mechanics-lien\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/","name":"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","description":"Construction Expert Witnesses","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Advise & Consult","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png","width":162,"height":75,"caption":"Advise & Consult"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","https:\/\/x.com\/adviseconsult","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/204526\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MrConstructionExpert"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.expertwitnessinconstruction.com"]}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2ztG6-3LGo","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=898280"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":898281,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898280\/revisions\/898281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=898280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=898280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=898280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}