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As explained as a design / build firm can you file a lien if not paid for your design services as previously agreed

California

In Ca I own a design / build firm . Phase 1 is design and I charge for those design services . If not paid for the design work, can I file a pre lien notice and ultimately a lien if necessary ? Thx

3 replies

May 14, 2020

California law provides for a design professional lien, if certain code requirements are met. Legal counsel can assist you to evaluate. Best, Jon -- M. Jonathan Robb, Jr., Esq. Sweeney Mason LLP 983 University Ave., Ste. 104C Los Gatos, CA 95032 Telephone: (408) 356-3000 Fax: (408) 354-8839 jrobb@smwb.com

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May 14, 2020

Your remedy will depend on the phase of the project. A Design Professional lien can only be recorded before construction has begun and a lawsuit to foreclose the lien must be filed before construction begins. You must also have a written contract with the owner, a building permit issued for the work, and send a notice of default to the owner not less than 10 days before recording the design professional lien. Also note that a design professional lien is unavailable for services provided for a single-family, owner-occupied residence in which the expected construction costs are less than $100,000. If construction begins, the Design Professional lien becomes void – but can be converted into a mechanic’s lien provided that within 30 days after commencement of the work, the design professional records a mechanic’s lien for the amount of the design professional lien and the mechanics lien states that it is a converted design professional lien. If construction has already begun, you can file a mechanic’s lien instead. It sounds like you have a direct contractual relationship with the owner. This means that you do not need to send a preliminary notice, unless there is a lender on the project in which case you should serve preliminary notice on the lender. No notice of intent to lien is required in California, but you might do so to encourage payment before a lien is needed. If you need legal assistance, feel free to reach out via email to ryan@huntortmann.com for a free consultation.

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Jul 16, 2022

If you are providing architectural services for phase one
and have not been paid for those services, you can file a pre-lien
notice. However, this is not something that will ultimately allow you to
recover any money from the project because once construction begins on
phase two (construction), it's difficult for architects and engineers
who are providing design services for phase one to get paid without
having liens filed against them by their own subcontractors or material
suppliers. Also try https://masterbundles.com/girly-fonts/
source to get amazing fonts. So if someone else is owed money from the
owner and they don't get paid by the time they finish their work on
phase two (construction), they'll file liens against your firm as well
as any other architects or engineers who are working on phase two.

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