{"id":899033,"date":"2021-08-17T16:05:02","date_gmt":"2021-08-17T22:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=899033"},"modified":"2021-08-17T16:05:06","modified_gmt":"2021-08-17T22:05:06","slug":"mechanics-lien-recording","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-recording\/","title":{"rendered":"Does the Recording of a Mechanic\u2019s Lien Memorandum by Itself Constitute Process? Read to Find Out."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Christopher G. Hill | <a href=\"https:\/\/constructionlawva.com\/does-the-recording-of-a-mechanics-lien-memorandum-by-itself-constitute-process-read-to-find-out\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Construction Law Musings<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a\u00a0Virginia construction attorney\u00a0representing those in the construction industry,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-5-things-to-know\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mechanic\u2019s liens<\/a>\u00a0are near and dear to my heart.\u00a0 The enforcement of mechanic\u2019s lien rights in Virginia is a two-step process. The first step is the recording of a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/reminder-upcoming-mechanics-lien-form-change\/\">properly-timed memorandum of lien<\/a>\u00a0that includes all of the\u00a0statutorily required information.\u00a0 The second step is a suit to enforce that memorandum of lien filed in Circuit Court.\u00a0 A recent case out of Norfolk, VA examined the first of these steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In\u00a0Central Radio Co. v. Warwick Builders, et al., and as Count III of a three-count Complaint, the Plaintiff, Central Radio Co., alleged that the Defendant, Warwick Builders, recorded a memorandum of lien that Warwick knew to be without merit and therefore committed an abuse of process.\u00a0 However, Warwick did not file any Circuit Court suit to enforce that lien.\u00a0 Central Radio Co. essentially alleged that the filing of the memorandum by itself constituted an attempt to extort payment and therefore was an abuse of process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, for there to be an \u201cabuse of process,\u201d the recording of the memorandum without the additional step of the enforcement action must constitute \u201cprocess.\u201d&nbsp; On this point, the Court agreed with Warwick and sustained Warwick\u2019s demurrer to the abuse of process count.&nbsp; After a good analysis of what in Virginia constitutes \u201cprocess,\u201d the Norfolk Circuit Court concluded:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>In the absence of a suit to enforce, as in this case, where a claimant has not served the other party with a complaint and summons, the mere filing of a mechanic\u2019s lien alone does not constitute \u2018process.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>In short, the mere recording of a lien, meritorious or otherwise, does not invoke the power of the Court to the point that such a recording can be the basis of an abuse of process cause of action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This short letter opinion is a good and quick read on the interaction of mechanic\u2019s liens and judicial process.&nbsp; I highly recommend that you take the relatively small amount of time necessary to read it in its entirety.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Christopher G. Hill | Construction Law Musings As a\u00a0Virginia construction attorney\u00a0representing those in the construction industry,\u00a0mechanic\u2019s liens\u00a0are near and dear to my heart.\u00a0 The enforcement of mechanic\u2019s lien rights in Virginia is a two-step process. The first step is the recording of a\u00a0properly-timed memorandum of lien\u00a0that includes all of the\u00a0statutorily required information.\u00a0 The second step&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-recording\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Does the Recording of a Mechanic\u2019s Lien Memorandum by Itself Constitute Process? Read to Find Out.<\/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":[9895,441],"class_list":["post-899033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mechanics-lien-law","tag-advise-consult","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>Does the Recording of a Mechanic\u2019s Lien Memorandum by Itself Constitute Process? Read to Find Out. - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"recording of a properly-timed memorandum of lien that includes all of the statutorily required information\" \/>\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-recording\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Does the Recording of a Mechanic\u2019s Lien Memorandum by Itself Constitute Process? Read to Find Out. - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"recording of a properly-timed memorandum of lien that includes all of the statutorily required information\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-recording\/\" \/>\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=\"2021-08-17T22:05:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-08-17T22:05:06+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=\"2 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-recording\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-recording\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\"},\"headline\":\"Does the Recording of a Mechanic\u2019s Lien Memorandum by Itself Constitute Process? Read to Find Out.\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-17T22:05:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-08-17T22:05:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-recording\/\"},\"wordCount\":371,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Advise &amp; Consult\",\"Mechanics Liens\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Mechanics Lien Law\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-recording\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-recording\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-recording\/\",\"name\":\"Does the Recording of a Mechanic\u2019s Lien Memorandum by Itself Constitute Process? Read to Find Out. - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-17T22:05:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-08-17T22:05:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"recording of a properly-timed memorandum of lien that includes all of the statutorily required information\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-recording\/\"]}]},{\"@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":"Does the Recording of a Mechanic\u2019s Lien Memorandum by Itself Constitute Process? Read to Find Out. - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","description":"recording of a properly-timed memorandum of lien that includes all of the statutorily required information","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-recording\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Does the Recording of a Mechanic\u2019s Lien Memorandum by Itself Constitute Process? Read to Find Out. - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","og_description":"recording of a properly-timed memorandum of lien that includes all of the statutorily required information","og_url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-recording\/","og_site_name":"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","article_published_time":"2021-08-17T22:05:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-08-17T22:05:06+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@adviseconsult","twitter_site":"@adviseconsult","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-recording\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-recording\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7"},"headline":"Does the Recording of a Mechanic\u2019s Lien Memorandum by Itself Constitute Process? Read to Find Out.","datePublished":"2021-08-17T22:05:02+00:00","dateModified":"2021-08-17T22:05:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-recording\/"},"wordCount":371,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Advise &amp; Consult","Mechanics Liens"],"articleSection":["Mechanics Lien Law"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-recording\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-recording\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-recording\/","name":"Does the Recording of a Mechanic\u2019s Lien Memorandum by Itself Constitute Process? Read to Find Out. - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-08-17T22:05:02+00:00","dateModified":"2021-08-17T22:05:06+00:00","description":"recording of a properly-timed memorandum of lien that includes all of the statutorily required information","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-recording\/"]}]},{"@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\/p2ztG6-3LSx","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899033","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=899033"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":899034,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899033\/revisions\/899034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}