{"id":900111,"date":"2022-07-05T15:52:23","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T21:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=900111"},"modified":"2022-07-05T15:52:26","modified_gmt":"2022-07-05T21:52:26","slug":"mechanics-lien-what-you-can-cant-include","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-what-you-can-cant-include\/","title":{"rendered":"Want to File a Mechanics\u2019 Lien in California? Here\u2019s What You Can (and Can\u2019t) Include"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>E. Mabry Rogers, Michael Knapp and Zachary Stewart | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buildsmartbradley.com\/2022\/06\/want-to-file-a-mechanics-lien-in-california-heres-what-you-can-and-cant-include\/?utm_source=Bradley+Arant+Boult+Cummings+LLP+-+BuildSmart&amp;utm_campaign=8ed4c717e4-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_b504caf31b-8ed4c717e4-78863422\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Buildsmart<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How can a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier secure payment for its work? One solution is to file a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-new-ground\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mechanics\u2019 lien<\/a> against a project\u2019s property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lien laws vary widely from state to state and time to time because contractors and subcontractors frequently seek to change them \u2013 California is no exception. One particularly significant rule is that a subcontractor must send a pre-lien notice to the property\u2019s owner, the general contractor, and the construction lender within 20 days after commencing work. Assuming the savvy sub or contractor files its pre-lien notice, a contractor or subcontractor will want to ask its legal advisor about what can be claimed in a lien notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In California, a lien claimant can recover for the reasonable value of its provided labor, services, equipment, or materials or the work\u2019s contract price. Moreover, a lien\u2019s amount can exceed the contract price \u2013 costs based on modification are allowed, via written agreement or a person\u2019s word (and a firm handshake).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, a lien claimant cannot include delay damages or attorneys\u2019 fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In&nbsp;<em>Lambert v. Superior Court<\/em>, the California Court of Appeal held that delay damages are not allowed in a mechanics\u2019 lien, whether or not the contract describes them as extra work. It reasoned that they are a form of \u201cconsequential damages\u201d outside of a lien\u2019s scope and allowing them would give claimants unfair leverage in arguing over who breached the contract. You might be thinking, \u201cAren\u2019t overtime costs the same \u2018hour\u2019 as regular labor costs, though they are paid at time and a half?\u201d While that\u2019s true, California state and federal courts have squarely held that delay damages are not allowed in a mechanics\u2019 lien.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similarly, California courts don\u2019t allow attorneys\u2019 fees in a mechanics\u2019 lien because they don\u2019t add to the property\u2019s value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Still, if a lien claimant includes impermissible items, it doesn\u2019t forfeit the entire lien (per the California Court of Appeal in&nbsp;<em>Basic Modular Facilities, Inc. v. Ehsanipour<\/em>). Instead, a court will reduce the lien to its proper amount, unless a claimant willfully includes items that it didn\u2019t actually provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A mechanics\u2019 lien is a useful tool for securing payment. But a claimant must save its delay damages and attorneys\u2019 fees claim for a breach of contract action rather than a mechanics\u2019 lien.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When one of your cases is in need of a construction expert, estimates, insurance appraisal or umpire services in defect or insurance disputes &#8211; please call Advise &amp; Consult, Inc. at 888.684.8305, or email <a href=\"mailto:experts@adviseandconsult.net\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">experts@adviseandconsult.net<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>E. Mabry Rogers, Michael Knapp and Zachary Stewart | Buildsmart How can a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier secure payment for its work? One solution is to file a mechanics\u2019 lien against a project\u2019s property. Lien laws vary widely from state to state and time to time because contractors and subcontractors frequently seek to change them&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-what-you-can-cant-include\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Want to File a Mechanics\u2019 Lien in California? Here\u2019s What You Can (and Can\u2019t) Include<\/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":[9895,88,184],"class_list":["post-900111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mechanics-lien-law","tag-advise-consult","tag-california","tag-mechanics-lien-law","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>Want to File a Mechanics\u2019 Lien in California? 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