I previously discussed the value of an owner recording a Notice of Contest of Lien under Florida Statute s. 713.22 to shorten a lienor’s statute of limitations to foreclose a construction lien to 60 days from the date the lien is contested. For more information on recording a Notice of Contest of Lien please look at this posting and this posting.
What happens if after a Notice of Contest of Lien is recorded the lienor amends its construction lien? For instance, say the following sequence occurs:
1: Lien
2: Notice of Contest of Lien
3: Amended Lien
Does an owner need to record another Notice of Contest of Lien for the Amended Lien? If an owner does, then a lienor could extend its 60 day window to foreclose its lien by simply recording an amended lien.
This exact scenario was addressed long ago by the Florida Supreme Court in Jack Stilson & Co. v. Caloosa Bayview Corp., 278 So.2d 282 (Fla. 1973) which held that the foreclosure of an amended lien MUST still be brought within the 60 days from the initial Notice of Contest of Lien. In other words, the recording of an amended lien does NOT toll (or stop) the running of the 60 day window to foreclose the lien when a Notice of Contest of Lien is recorded.
Therefore, if you are an owner, there is certainly a benefit to recording a Notice of Contest of Lien. Conversely, if you are a contractor, do not think you can delay or escape the 60 day window to foreclose your construction lien if you received a Notice of Contest of Lien by simply amending your lien.
Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding this article. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.