Archives

July 1, 2012 brings changes to the old laws relating to Preliminary Notices, Stop Notices, Payment Bonds and Mechanics’ Liens.  These changes relate to the future only and do not require claimants to re-serve or re-record notices done before June 30th. The new statutes, now found beginning with Civil Code section 8000, do not completely […]

That is your response when someone threatens to “bond around” you.  Why?  Because whether it is a mechanics’ lien or a stop notice, the bond becomes your personal piggy bank to crack open when you prevail on your claim.  It is substituted for the cash being held under your stop notice, with the fund and […]

In Eggers Industries v. Flintco, Inc., (2011) the Court found a new interpretation of who is a subcontractor and significantly altered the long standing view that a supplier to a supplier generally does not have lien rights.  In Eggers, Flintco, the prime contractor for the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at UC […]

    SB 136 expands the definition of “public works” and the resulting prevailing wage requirements to certain private works related to renewable energy. Specifically, any construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work done under private contract that satisfies the following conditions will be subject to prevailing wage rates: (a) the work is performed in connection with […]

Amendments effective January 1, 2012, to Civil Code §3084 now require, in addition to the “Notice of Mechanics’ Lien Attention!” which remains in effect, that the proof of service affidavit “shall show the name and address of the owner or reputed owner upon whom a copy of the mechanics lien and the Notice of Mechanics […]

In P&D Consultants, Inc. v. City of Carlsbad, a December, 2010, an unpublished (can’t be cited as authority) Court of Appeal decision involving a breach of contract action pertaining to a redesign of defendant-city’s municipal golf course, The Court of Appeal reversed a trial court’s decision awarding $109,093.81 to P&D for extra work because there […]

When your customer comes to you, typically after not paying you for months or longer and asks you for an interest free long term payment plan, here’s what I recommend you do. Since your customer is asking you to be the bank, be the bank.  Tell your customer that you are willing to consider their […]

2010 may have marked a year with historic lows in construction but it was quite the opposite in our busy appellate Courts.  As has been the case in recent years, cases dealing with the interpretation of the Contractors License Law provisions were dominant, putting new spins of prompt payment penalties and Business and Professions Code […]