Washington Contractors Beware Of Invalid Liens

By Author: Charles Drouin
Total Articles: 4
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Seattle litigation professionals and contractors, as well as those across the state, have long relied upon services provided by lien recording companies to protect a contractor’s lien rights. Lien recording companies efficiently record liens in the county where a property is located. The contractor or Seattle litigation attorney need only provide documentation reflecting the amount of the lien owed and the recording company would take care of the rest. However, a recent Washington Appellate Court decision has forced contractors and Seattle litigation attorneys to take a second look at the form of the lien used by these companies. In the case of Williams v. Athletic Field, Inc., 155 Wn. App. 434, 228 P.3d 1297 (2010) the Court of Appeals held that a sample form may not be sufficient as it only provides a witness signature and not claims for representation.

RCW 60.04.091 requires that mechanics’ and materialmen’s claims of lien be both attested and acknowledged by the claimant “or some person authorized to act on his or her behalf.” The attestation requirement provides that the signature of the lien “affirmatively ...
... state they have read the notice of claim of lien and believe the notice of claim of lien to be true and correct under penalty of perjury.” Id. The acknowledgment requirement states that the claim of lien “be acknowledged pursuant to chapter 64.08 RCW.” Id. RCW 60.04.091 provides a sample form notice of Claim of Lien, which if substantially followed, is sufficient to satisfy both the attestation and acknowledgment requirements of the statute. Id.

In Williams, a dispute arose between Williams (owners) and Athletic Fields (contractor) over the performance of an oral contract for site preparation work associated with Williams’ development of a parcel of land in Sumner. Williams refused to pay Athletic Fields and in December 2004, Athletic Fields filed a mechanic’s lien against Williams property. Athletic Fields used a lien recording company, LienData USA, Inc., to prepare and record its lien. Athletic Fields’ lien on its face expressly identified LienData USA, Inc. as the “AGENT FOR CLAIMANT,” and the lien was attested to by Rebecca Southern, an employee of Lien Data USA, Inc.

Athletic Fields’ claim of lien contained no separate form of acknowledgment in compliance with RCW 64.08, and failed to identify Rebecca Southern as signing in a representative capacity on behalf of the corporation which was the “AGENT FOR CLAIMANT,” LienData USA, Inc. Williams successfully argued to the Court of Appeals that the attestation clause signed by Rebecca Southern failed to satisfy the acknowledgement requirement contained in RCW 60.04.091. The Court of Appeals found that the attestation clause failed to comply with the requirements for corporate acknowledgment because it does not indicate that Southern signed in a representative capacity on behalf of LienData.

The Williams decision has caused much consternation among the construction law bar; and most especially throughout the Seattle litigation community. Based upon a casual reading of the case, it purports to invalidate many thousands of liens that have been recorded through lien recording companies such as Lien Research Corp. Contractors planning, or who recently filed a lien, would be well advised to discuss the form of the lien used by the lien recording company with an experienced Seattle attorney. The litigation attorneys at the Seattle law firm of Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson would be happy to assist you in evaluating your lien rights. If you are searching for a Seattle litigation attorney to help you navigate the complex maze of litigation, then you will want to take a close look at www.lasher.com for more information.

About Author:-
Charles Drouin is interested in seattle family law. Still an undergrad in university, he hopes to be a seattle litigation attorney one day, and keeps up to date on the latest developments by reading www.lasher.com/news on a regular basis.