{"id":898631,"date":"2021-04-07T11:53:56","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T17:53:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=898631"},"modified":"2021-04-07T11:54:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-07T17:54:00","slug":"mechanics-lien-leases-virginia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/","title":{"rendered":"Mechanic\u2019s Liens and Leases Don\u2019t Often Mix Well"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Christopher G. Hill | <a href=\"https:\/\/constructionlawva.com\/mechanics-liens-and-leases-dont-often-mix-well\/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ConstructionLawMusings-RichmondVa+%28Construction+Law+Musings-+Richmond%2C+VA%29\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Construction Law Musings<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As those who read my \u201cmusings\u201d here at this construction law blog are well aware, the topic of Virginia mechanic\u2019s liens is one that is much discussed.\u00a0 From the\u00a0basic statutory requirements\u00a0to the\u00a0more technical aspects of these tricky beasts.\u00a0 One aspect of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-liens-arbitration-provision\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mechanic\u2019s liens<\/a> that I have yet to discuss in detail it how these liens attach in the situation where the contractor does work for a lessee and not for the owner of the underlying fee interest in the property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A recent case out of the Western District of Virginia federal court,\u00a0<em>McCarthy Building Companies Inc. v. TPE Virginia Land Holdings LLC,\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0discusses the interaction of\u00a0Va. Code 43-20, work on a leasehold, and parties necessary to any litigation relating to a lien for the work on that leasehold. The basic facts, outlined more thoroughly in the linked opinion, are these.\u00a0 MBC provided certain work to TPE Kentuck Solar, LLC on property leased from TPE Virginia Land Holdings, LLC.\u00a0 The lease was for a fixed term and for a fixed amount regardless of the work performed at the property.\u00a0 MBC was unpaid by the Kentuck entity and then recorded a lien on the property and then sued to enforce that lien and for unjust enrichment against TPE Land Holdings.\u00a0 TPE Land Holding filed a motion to dismiss the mechanic\u2019s lien and unjust enrichment counts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Court heard oral argument and then went into an analysis of the above-referenced statute and whether TPE Land Holdings was a necessary party that had any interest in the \u201cproperty\u201d subject to the lien.&nbsp; The Court put the question as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>The question, therefore, is not who has an interest in the land generally; rather, the court must ask who has an interest in the \u201cpart\u201d of the land that Kentuck possesses. Specifically: Who has an interest in Kentuck\u2019s leasehold interest?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Upon review of the lease and the relationships among the parties, the Court determined that the only party with an interest in the leasehold was Kentuck and that no action on the lien could diminish the property interest in the underlying property owned by TPE Land Holdings.&nbsp; In short, TPE Land Holdings gave up its interest in the leasehold when it leased the land to Kentuck.&nbsp; Even in the event that the lien suit lead to foreclosure, the worst that could happen is a new tenant would take over the lease and TPE Land Holdings would have potentially worse luck enforcing the lease.&nbsp; Even in this scenario title to the underlying land would not be affected by the lien or its enforcement.&nbsp; Therefore, the Court stated, TPE Land Holdings is not a necessary party or even a proper party to the lien counts and must be dismissed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Court dismissed the unjust enrichment count as well.&nbsp; The Court stated that due to the fixed nature of the lease payments along with the fact that MBC failed to plead the requisite elements of an unjust enrichment claim, key among them that TPE Land Holdings was aware it may have to pay for the work performed under the contract with Kentuck.&nbsp; Aside from MBC\u2019s failure to plead all of the elements of such a claim, the Court stated that nothing MBC did affected the value of the leasehold from the perspective of TPE Land Holdings given the way the lease was drafted such that the work at the property would not affect the lease payments or other lease aspects that were set long before the work was performed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My take?\u00a0 Aside from the usual advice to read the opinion in full and to consult an\u00a0experienced Virginia construction attorney, this case is a good primer on the interaction of leases and Virginia mechanic\u2019s liens.\u00a0 I recommend it to your reading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Christopher G. Hill | Construction Law Musings As those who read my \u201cmusings\u201d here at this construction law blog are well aware, the topic of Virginia mechanic\u2019s liens is one that is much discussed.\u00a0 From the\u00a0basic statutory requirements\u00a0to the\u00a0more technical aspects of these tricky beasts.\u00a0 One aspect of mechanic\u2019s liens that I have yet to&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Mechanic\u2019s Liens and Leases Don\u2019t Often Mix Well<\/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":[9895,11450,184,357],"class_list":["post-898631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mechanics-lien-law","tag-advise-consult","tag-lessee","tag-mechanics-lien-law","tag-virginia","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>Mechanic\u2019s Liens and Leases Don\u2019t Often Mix Well - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"how mechanic&#039;s liens attach where the contractor does work for a lessee, not the owner of the underlying fee interest in the property\" \/>\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\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mechanic\u2019s Liens and Leases Don\u2019t Often Mix Well - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"how mechanic&#039;s liens attach where the contractor does work for a lessee, not the owner of the underlying fee interest in the property\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/\" \/>\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=\"2021-04-07T17:53:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-04-07T17:54:00+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\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\"},\"headline\":\"Mechanic\u2019s Liens and Leases Don\u2019t Often Mix Well\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-07T17:53:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-07T17:54:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/\"},\"wordCount\":656,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Advise &amp; Consult\",\"Lessee\",\"Mechanics Lien Law\",\"Virginia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Mechanics Lien Law\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/\",\"name\":\"Mechanic\u2019s Liens and Leases Don\u2019t Often Mix Well - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-07T17:53:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-07T17:54:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"how mechanic's liens attach where the contractor does work for a lessee, not the owner of the underlying fee interest in the property\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/\"]}]},{\"@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":"Mechanic\u2019s Liens and Leases Don\u2019t Often Mix Well - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","description":"how mechanic's liens attach where the contractor does work for a lessee, not the owner of the underlying fee interest in the property","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\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mechanic\u2019s Liens and Leases Don\u2019t Often Mix Well - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","og_description":"how mechanic's liens attach where the contractor does work for a lessee, not the owner of the underlying fee interest in the property","og_url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/","og_site_name":"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","article_published_time":"2021-04-07T17:53:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-04-07T17:54:00+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\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7"},"headline":"Mechanic\u2019s Liens and Leases Don\u2019t Often Mix Well","datePublished":"2021-04-07T17:53:56+00:00","dateModified":"2021-04-07T17:54:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/"},"wordCount":656,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Advise &amp; Consult","Lessee","Mechanics Lien Law","Virginia"],"articleSection":["Mechanics Lien Law"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/","name":"Mechanic\u2019s Liens and Leases Don\u2019t Often Mix Well - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-04-07T17:53:56+00:00","dateModified":"2021-04-07T17:54:00+00:00","description":"how mechanic's liens attach where the contractor does work for a lessee, not the owner of the underlying fee interest in the property","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-leases-virginia\/"]}]},{"@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\/p2ztG6-3LM3","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898631","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=898631"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":898632,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898631\/revisions\/898632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=898631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=898631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=898631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}