[WSBARP] Contractor Liens in times of Covid-19

Wed Nov 18 14:09:48 PST 2020

Unfortunately, the Recorder’s Office has confirmed that the date of recording will be the date that the document is actually processed rather than the day that it is delivered.    

Samuel M. Meyler

Meyler Legal, PLLC 

1700 Westlake Ave. N., Ste. 200

Seattle, Washington 98109

Tel:  206.876.7770

Fax:  206.876.7771

Email:   <mailto:samuel at meylerlegal.com> samuel at meylerlegal.com

NOTICE:

This electronic message contains information which may be Confidential or Privileged and constitutes an electronic communication within the meaning of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act 18 USC 2510. The information is intended to be for the use of the individual or entity named above.  If you are not the intended recipient, please be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this information is prohibited.  If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender and delete the copy you received together with any attachments.  Thank you.

From: wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> On Behalf Of Douglas Scott
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2020 1:42 PM
To: WSBA Real Property Listserv <wsbarp at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: Re: [WSBARP] Contractor Liens in times of Covid-19

My experience is that once such a Lien makes it to the recorder's office it is date stamped.  Then it must be processed into the records which is the reason for the delay. Hopefully your Lien will be date stamped. 

DOUGLAS W. SCOTT

Rainier Legal Advocates|LLC

465 Rainier Blvd. N., Suite C 

Issaquah, Washington 98027 

425.392.8550 (tel)

425.392.2829 (fax)

 <http://www.rainieradvocates.com/> www.rainieradvocates.com

Notice: This communication, including attachments, may contain information that is confidential and protected by the attorney/client or other privileges. It constitutes non-public information intended to be conveyed only to the designated recipient(s). If the reader or recipient of this communication is not the intended recipient, an employee or agent of the intended recipient who is responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, or you believe that you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and promptly delete this e-mail, including attachments without reading or saving them in any manner. The unauthorized use, dissemination, distribution, or reproduction of this e-mail, including attachments, is prohibited and may be unlawful. Receipt by anyone other than the intended recipient(s) is not a waiver of any attorney/client or other privilege

On Wed, Nov 18, 2020 at 1:21 PM Daniel Berner <dberner at phillipsburgesslaw.com <mailto:dberner at phillipsburgesslaw.com> > wrote:

Interesting scenario, which is usually a bad answer for a client.

Lien statute is strictly construed so there is an argument that failure to comply results in loss of lien rights.  However, if your client can show substantial compliance and a good faith effort then I think you have a strong argument for a relaxing of the lien statute’s strict compliance based on King County’s failure to record timely based on COVID impacts.  Was the property owner served or provided with a certified copy of the unrecorded claim of lien? If so, then I think you have a stronger chance of maintaining the lien claim.

I’d like to hear others’ thoughts or experiences regarding this scenario.

Daniel Berner

Attorney

dberner at phillipsburgesslaw.com <mailto:dberner at phillipsburgesslaw.com>  | <http://www.phillipsburgesslaw.com/> website  

Our offices are CLOSED to the public through December 14, 2020.

WE RECENTLY MOVED: 111 21st Ave SW, Olympia, WA 98501 | 360.742.3500 (Office) | 360.999.0306 (Cell)

915 S I Street, Tacoma, WA 98405 | 253.292.6640

REAL ESTATE | LAND USE | ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

From: wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <mailto:wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com>  <wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <mailto:wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> > On Behalf Of Samuel M. Meyler
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2020 11:22 AM
To: 'WSBA Real Property Listserv' <wsbarp at lists.wsbarppt.com <mailto:wsbarp at lists.wsbarppt.com> >
Subject: [WSBARP] Contractor Liens in times of Covid-19

Listmates,

Here is the scenario… Contractor performed work, didn’t get paid and sent a Claim of Lien for recording with tracking.  Tracking confirms that the Claim of Lien was delivered to the King County recorder’s office prior to the expiration of the 90 day period for recording but it has not been processed yet.  King County indicates that, as of today, they are processing materials that they received on 9/24/2020 (Wow!).  

With County Recorder offices backed up, materials sent by mail are not being processed/recorded for weeks after the Recorder receives them in some cases.  If a Claim of Lien was delivered to the Recorder’s Office prior to the expiration of the 90 day window but is not processed until many weeks after, is there any basis for the contractor to argue that the 90 day limitation period was stayed or that the recording should be retroactive to the date of delivery?  Is there any authority on this?  

Thanks for your input! 

Sam

Samuel M. Meyler

Meyler Legal, PLLC 

1700 Westlake Ave. N., Ste. 200

Seattle, Washington 98109

Tel:  206.876.7770

Fax:  206.876.7771

Email:   <mailto:samuel at meylerlegal.com> samuel at meylerlegal.com

NOTICE:

This electronic message contains information which may be Confidential or Privileged and constitutes an electronic communication within the meaning of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act 18 USC 2510. The information is intended to be for the use of the individual or entity named above.  If you are not the intended recipient, please be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this information is prohibited.  If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender and delete the copy you received together with any attachments.  Thank you.

***Disclaimer: Please note that RPPT listserv participation is not restricted to practicing attorneys and may include non-practicing attorneys, law students, professionals working in related fields, and others.***

_______________________________________________
WSBARP mailing list
WSBARP at lists.wsbarppt.com <mailto:WSBARP at lists.wsbarppt.com> 
http://mailman.fsr.com/mailman/listinfo/wsbarp

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbarp/attachments/20201118/c978e11f/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 4530 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbarp/attachments/20201118/c978e11f/image001.jpg>