A long, long time ago – in 1876 – the Oregon Supreme Court was faced with a situation where a contractor filed both a construction lien and a mortgage against a single property securing a single debt. This month they released another opinion confirming that decision and expanding its scope. 1876 Oregon Construction Lien Invalidated [...]
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“Super Priority” and Oregon Condominium Assessment Liens
In Oregon, the statutory language used in regard to condominium assessment liens, and HOA assessment liens is nearly a word-for-word match in most respects. One place where the controlling law has the potential to be quite different, however, is lien priority. In this respect, a condominium association has the opportunity to be in a much [...]
Nevada Supreme Court Asked To Weigh In On High Stakes Lien Priority Dispute
The Fontainebleau Las Vegas project on the Las Vegas Strip has been a sore subject for hundreds of contractors in the Nevada area (the Strip has had problems before). The lender on this mega project pulled funding, and the project went into bankruptcy. Although the project is in Nevada and all mechanic liens were filed [...]
Are Mechanics Liens Worth Anything In This Economy?
“In this economy…” — there is an opening or closing phrase we hear a lot about lately. The statement has a particular applicability when thinking about mechanics lien filings because these filings are connected to the real estate, and everyone knows about the depressed real estate market. How can the economy affect your mechanics lien [...]
Illinois Mechanics Lien Law Change Proposed To Nullify Recent Court Decision
Readers of our blog interested in Illinois’ mechanics lien laws likely know about the dreadful “Cypress Creek” decision handed down last year by the Illinois Supreme Court in LaSalle Bank National Association v. Cypress Creek I, LP. The case greatly impacted the Lien Priority given to mechanics lien claimants and construction lenders, tipping the scales [...]
Five Reasons To File Your Mechanics Lien As Early As Possible
Making the decision to file a mechanic’s lien isn’t an easy decision to make. Usually, your company has a relationship with others on the project, and there may very well be some good faith reasons why payment is getting held up on the job. The implication of this difficulty is that many wait until the [...]
Lien Claimants Get A Victory in Utah In Mechanics Lien Priority Case
In mid-2011, the Utah Court of Appeals decided a case affecting a mechanic lien’s priority over mortgages and construction loans in Olsen v. Chase (PDF Full Text). The case has important implications to mechanic lien claimants in that state, and questions the effectiveness of lien subordination agreements. Mechanic Lien Priority Rules In Utah Generally Before [...]
Has The Mechanics Lien Died in Illinois? No Way.
While the article was published back in May 2011, I just recently came across an article published by the Illinois State Bar Association titled “Death of the mechanic’s lien?” The article was inspired by an Illinois Supreme Court decision that we covered in a previous blog post, LaSalle Bank National Association v. Cypress Creek I, [...]
Lien Priority & When It Matters
Most of the time, lien priority doesn’t even matter. A contractor or supplier files their mechanics lien, and they are paid before legal proceedings and foreclosure are required. Or, if legal proceedings are necessary, the property has enough equity in it to pay off the lenders and the claimants. Every now and then, though, lien [...]
North Carolina Appeals Court Restores Sanity to Its Lien Priority Jurisprudence
Remember when we wrote about North Carolina’s “Relation-Back” rule regarding liens last year? Basically, there was a hugely controversial decision that a lower court in North Carolina rendered holding that partial lien waivers signed by a general contractor effectively change the date of the contractor’s first furnishing of labor and material on a particular project. [...]
Changes to Utah Mechanic Lien Laws Take Effect August 1, 2011
As the world turns, mechanic’s lien laws are changed by legislatures across the country. On average, at least five substantial changes occur each year across the country, and this year, the state of Utah’s number has been called. The legislature has passed two bills that modifies mechanics lien laws, with the majority of these changes [...]
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Scott Wolfe Jr., JD
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