Supplier Cannot Rely Consultant's Representation As "Contractor" In Order To Impose Mechanic's Lien
06/27/08
Property owner accepted bid by general contractor. General contractor was brought into project by consultant because consultant did not possess local county license. Thereafter, consultant was actively involved in construction, including arranging for the steel building materials from supplier (mechanic’s lien claimant). Consultant listed himself as the general contractor on supplier’s jobsite information sheet.
After non-payment, supplier filed its mechanic’s lien (incorrectly indicating a last day worked ten (10) days earlier than actual last day worked, when it was undisputed that critical fasteners were delivered and installed on the project). Thereafter, trial court granted summary judgment to property owners on basis that “on the face of the mechanic’s lien, the lien was filed outside the three month time limit and on the basis that consultant was not the general contractor and thus the lien statement defectively failed to name the general contractor.
K.S.A. 60-1102 does not require the filing of any particular form of a mechanic’s lien statement, only that the requisite information be included and by fully verified. The lack of verification in the statement filed necessarily defeats the lien. Mechanic’s lien statements may incorporate by reference information in attachments, so long as they contain the requisite information and are fully verified. Kansas mechanic’s lien statutes not only apply to the original contractor but also to those under an agreement with the contractor, subcontractor or owner contractor. Because there is not privity of contractor between a subcontractor and a property owner, however, a subcontractor can obtain a lien only by complying with the statutory provisions. It is not enough that he or she has furnished material and filed a lien statement. The key distinction for liens by suppliers and subcontractors is that the lien statement must state the name of the contractor.
Although the statute requires timely filing, it does not require the lien statement to include the last date materials or labor were provided. The statute requires only the name of the contractor, and does not require any inclusion or verification of the date supplies or labor were last furnished. Any statement in the lien as to the last day worked may be contradicted by the evidence. In a mechanic’s lien foreclosure case, the trial court is not required to accept a contractor’s statement concerning the last work date if that statement is contradicted by the evidence. The test as to when a piece of work is completed in order to preserve a mechanic’s lien under K.S.A. 60-1101, et seq. is whether the unfinished work was part of the work necessary to be performed under the terms of the original contract to complete the job and comply in good faith with the requirements of the contract.
However, under the undisputed facts, consultant was not a general contractor on the project. Consultant’s “own views of ‘linkage’ or shared responsibility simply cannot make him a contractor in the absence of an agreement with the owners.” A contractor is one who furnishes labor or materials under a contract direct with the owner for the improvement of property. The critical fact making one a contractor is his or her relationship to the owner; mere relationships between those who provide materials or labor to a project can never create “contractor” status for purposes of a Kansas mechanic’s lien without a contract – express or implied – with the owner. Where as here, the lien statement fails to name the contractor, the mechanic’s lien statement is defective. In order to create a valid lien, supplier was required to file a lien statement in the precise manner prescribed by the statute and in no other manner. A supplier’s lien statement is absolutely required to state the name of the contractor.
Alliance Steel, Inc. vs. Piland, Docket No. 98,762 (Ks.Ct.App. June 27, 2008).
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