Posted by Glen SoCal on August 10, 2003 at 12:59:32:
Thank you for your response. I’ll locate the CA statute on ML’s.
Glen
Mechanics lien for a bid? - Posted by Glen SoCal
Posted by Glen SoCal on July 29, 2003 at 02:15:40:
A friend of mine asked for a bid from a man for some construction work. The man worked for him on a prior rehab. The work to be performed would be on a different property.
Some days later, the man returned with a bid and asked when he could start. My friend said that he hadn’t promised the man the work, nor had he awarded the job to anyone, and added that the rehab in question was on the back burner anyway.
The man was furious. He complained that the work was promised to him and demanded $500 for formulating a bid. My friend refused.
The man returned with a copy of a Mechanics Lien doc with this: “California Preliminary 20-day notice.”
My friend plans to hold the property for a long time but certainly doesn’t want the title clouded. He feels he is being ‘wrongly clouded’.
Does anyone have any thoughts on what he ought to do next?
Thanks, Glen
Re: Mechanics lien for a bid? - Posted by John Merchant
Posted by John Merchant on August 10, 2003 at 12:12:43:
It might be under CA law that a fictitious ML filing, (where work was never started, never contracted, etc.) is not only illegal, but even criminal.
Many states have statutes to the effect that maliciously or falsely clouding a title is criminal and where there is no contract, no agreement, nothing in writing, I’d sure say the contractor had NO right to file the ML.
Suggest you have a look under ML law, in CA statutes and read whole statute. Then you’ll have better idea of how to proceed, whether by criminal complaint or civil suit against the contractor. Maybe both.