Mechanic's Lien Statute Strictly Construed in Delaware
In King Construction, Inc. v. Plaza Four Realty, LLC, (Del. Super., Sept. 29, 2008), read opinion here, the Delaware Superior Court strictly construed the Delaware Mechanic's Lien statute and dismissed the efforts of a subcontractor to file a mechanic's lien based on non-compliance with the statute, such as the following: (i) failure to obtain written consent of the owner of the property before performing work for the tenant on leased premises; and (ii) not waiting until all work was completed before filing the mechanic's lien for amounts due (which date must be asserted in the court pleadings).
The court also recited several other prerequisites in the statute for successfully asserting a mechanic's lien, as well as discussing policy reasons and filing deadlines that is all useful information for anyone who needs to know the details about mechanic's liens in Delaware.
