Summary:
The Plaintiff provided paving services for the Richmond Hills development starting in August 2005 and asserted that its date of last furnishing of materials was February 24, 2010. It filed a Claim of Lien on March 30, 2010, a month after the property was sold at foreclosure. The purchasers of the property contended that the Plaintiff had performed no services for a year prior to February 2010 and was therefore tardy in filing the Claim of Lien.
The Court of Appeal analysed the timing, looking to the following criteria to determine when the materials were last furnished for purposes of filing a materialmens lien:
(i) the work performed and materials furnished must be required by the contract;
(ii) . . . the work or materials at different times [must] be furnished under one continuous contract;
(iii) whatever is done must be done in good faith for the purpose of fully performing the obligations of the contract, and not for the mere purpose of extending the time for filing lien proceedings; and
(iv) where the time allowed for filing has begun to run, the claimant cannot thereafter extend the time within which the lien may be filed by doing or furnishing small additional items for that purpose.
Blalock Electric Co. v. Grassy Creek Development Corp., 99 N.C. App. 440, 447, 393 S.E.2d 354, 358 (1990) (citing Priddy, 258 N.C. at 657, 129 S.E.2d at 260). Here, despite the final year-long gap in furnishing materials, the Court found that the Plaintiff had performed the final services at the request of the owner and, due to the nature of the paving services, had often had substantial gaps in work.
Judge McGee dissented, arguing that there was sufficient contradictory evidence to deny summary judgment.
For a copy of the opinion, please see:
Ramey Kemp v. Richmond Hills Residential- Time Limit for Filing Claim of Lien.pdf
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