We are a material supplier and supplied goods to the Owner of a project in California. We did not file the preliminary notice within the first 20 days of providing materials or labor. Now we are owed over 75k. Have we lost our lien rights?
If you had a direct contract with the OWNER no preliminary notice is needed. Make sure you timely record your lien.
The answer is "it depends." What type of project (public v. private)? Is there a lender? Have your materials been incorporated into the project?
It is a private project. I do not know if there is a lender. Our materials have been incorporated into the prpject, yes.
It sounds promising. Your lawyer (or perhaps Levelset) may be able to identify whether there is a lender on the project. Even if there was, there still may be a way around the procedural issue.
If your work is complete (not including punch list items) you should record your lien. After recordation, and provided you have not been paid, you have 90 days from lien recordation to file a lawsuit to perfect the lien in the appropriate court.