{"id":902432,"date":"2024-03-20T15:29:07","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T21:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=902432"},"modified":"2024-03-20T15:36:20","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T21:36:20","slug":"clarifying-mechanics-lien-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Clarifying Mechanics\u2019 Lien Law"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Anthony Hassey | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spilmanlaw.com\/resource-article\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Spilman Thomas &amp; Battle<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/mechanics-lien-what-you-can-cant-include\/\">mechanics\u2019 lien<\/a> is a powerful remedy that provides a contractor with a priority lien on a property and a fast means of being made whole if payment is not rendered at the completion of a job. In order to successfully obtain a mechanics\u2019 lien, a filing party must \u201cPerfect the Lien,\u201d meaning that it must be filed appropriately and contain the necessary information.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/casetext.com\/case\/belfor-prop-restoration-v-ravenwood-manor-llc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><em>Belfor Property Restoration v. Ravenwood Mannor, LLC<\/em>, 305 A.3d 1085 (Pa.Super. 2023)<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/cases\/pennsylvania\/superior-court\/2023\/217-wda-2023.html\"><em>R.A. Greig Equipment Company v. Mark Erie Hospitality, LLC<\/em>, 305 A.3d 56 (Pa.Super. 2023)<\/a>, demonstrate the importance of strict adherence to the rules and meaning of the language in the mechanics\u2019 lien statute to ensure a cost-effective and successful outcome when filing a lien on behalf of a client. In\u00a0<em>Belfor<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>R.A. Greig<\/em>\u00a0the Superior Court of Pennsylvania was asked to review two separate but related trial court rulings dismissing mechanics\u2019 liens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In&nbsp;<em>Belfor Property Restoration<\/em>, the Superior Court was asked to review the trial court\u2019s decision that plaintiff failed to properly serve the mechanics\u2019 lien on defendant. Plaintiff filed a mechanics\u2019 lien against defendant in the amount of $1,028,499.62 for \u201cthe price and value of furnished materials and delivered in connection with the improvement, erection, and\/or construction of the property and buildings. . . located at 3015 Barrington Lane.\u201d&nbsp;<em>Belfor,&nbsp;<\/em>at 1086. Ravenwood was a newly formed corporation with only one member. It employed security staff to monitor the property at 3015 Barrington Lane. Plaintiff served the mechanics\u2019 lien on a security officer working at the property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the same day that plaintiff filed its complaint to enforce the mechanics\u2019 lien, Ravenwood filed a motion to strike the mechanics\u2019 lien claim based on improper service. Ravenwood subsequently filed preliminary objections reasserting its motion to strike for lack of valid service. The trial court heard argument on the matter and ultimately granted Ravenwood\u2019s motion to strike the mechanics\u2019 lien and deemed Ravenwood\u2019s preliminary objections moot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On appeal, the Superior Court reviewed the law for service on corporate entities and noted that service can be made upon: (1) an executive officer, partner, or trustee of the corporation; (2) the managing clerk or other person for the time being in charge of any regular place of business or activity of the corporation or similar entity; or, (3) an agent authorized by the corporation in writing to receive service of process for it. Pa.R.C.P. 424. The court determined that the security guard placed at Ravenwood\u2019s place of business was the person in charge at the time service was made as he was placed at the location, and employed by Ravenwood. Because the Superior Court determined that service was proper, it overruled the trial court\u2019s decision granting Ravenwood\u2019s motion to strike the mechanics\u2019 lien and remanded the matter to the trial court for further review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In&nbsp;<em>R.A. Greig<\/em>, plaintiff filed a mechanics\u2019 lien against Mark Erie Hospitality to secure a lien against two properties of Mark Erie Hospital for damage caused to construction equipment and unpaid rental cost related to the equipment, claiming that the equipment and rental costs were \u201cmaterials\u201d pursuant to the mechanics\u2019 lien law. The trial court struck the mechanics\u2019 lien and determined that the rental equipment and related payments were not \u201cmaterials\u201d within the definition of the Mechanics\u2019 Lien Law and plaintiff appealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Superior Court traced the history of the meaning of the word \u201cmaterials\u201d back to the 1920s and determined that for the purpose of a mechanics\u2019 lien, the word \u201cmaterials\u201d is defined as \u201c\u2019fixtures, machinery and equipment\u2019 [that] must not only be \u2018reasonably necessary\u2019 they must also be \u2018incorporated into the improvement.\u2019\u201d&nbsp;<em>R.A. Greig<\/em>&nbsp;at 61. The Superior Court determined that the undisputed facts of the matter were not incorporated into the improvement and thus not subject to a mechanics\u2019 lien.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These cases are important to show the precision courts will use when ruling on whether a mechanics\u2019 lien has been filed properly and whether the subject matter of the lien even falls within the scope of the law as written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\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\">experts@adviseandconsult.net<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Anthony Hassey | Spilman Thomas &amp; Battle A mechanics\u2019 lien is a powerful remedy that provides a contractor with a priority lien on a property and a fast means of being made whole if payment is not rendered at the completion of a job. In order to successfully obtain a mechanics\u2019 lien, a filing party&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Clarifying Mechanics\u2019 Lien Law<\/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":[9895,76],"class_list":["post-902432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mechanics-lien-law","tag-advise-consult","tag-mechanics-lien","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>Clarifying Mechanics\u2019 Lien Law - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"These cases are important to show the precision courts will use when ruling on whether a mechanics\u2019 lien has been filed properly\" \/>\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\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Clarifying Mechanics\u2019 Lien Law - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"These cases are important to show the precision courts will use when ruling on whether a mechanics\u2019 lien has been filed properly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/\" \/>\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=\"2024-03-20T21:29:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-03-20T21:36:20+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=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\"},\"headline\":\"Clarifying Mechanics\u2019 Lien Law\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-20T21:29:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-20T21:36:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/\"},\"wordCount\":725,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Advise &amp; Consult\",\"mechanics lien\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Mechanics Lien Law\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/\",\"name\":\"Clarifying Mechanics\u2019 Lien Law - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-20T21:29:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-20T21:36:20+00:00\",\"description\":\"These cases are important to show the precision courts will use when ruling on whether a mechanics\u2019 lien has been filed properly\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/\"]}]},{\"@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":"Clarifying Mechanics\u2019 Lien Law - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","description":"These cases are important to show the precision courts will use when ruling on whether a mechanics\u2019 lien has been filed properly","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\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Clarifying Mechanics\u2019 Lien Law - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","og_description":"These cases are important to show the precision courts will use when ruling on whether a mechanics\u2019 lien has been filed properly","og_url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/","og_site_name":"Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","article_published_time":"2024-03-20T21:29:07+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-03-20T21:36:20+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@adviseconsult","twitter_site":"@adviseconsult","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7"},"headline":"Clarifying Mechanics\u2019 Lien Law","datePublished":"2024-03-20T21:29:07+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-20T21:36:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/"},"wordCount":725,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Advise &amp; Consult","mechanics lien"],"articleSection":["Mechanics Lien Law"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/","name":"Clarifying Mechanics\u2019 Lien Law - Advise &amp; Consult, Inc.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-03-20T21:29:07+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-20T21:36:20+00:00","description":"These cases are important to show the precision courts will use when ruling on whether a mechanics\u2019 lien has been filed properly","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/clarifying-mechanics-lien-law\/"]}]},{"@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\/p2ztG6-3MLm","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902432","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=902432"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":902433,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902432\/revisions\/902433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=902432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=902432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=902432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}