Senate Bill No. 387

(By Senators Sharpe, Ross and Oliverio)

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[Introduced January 29, 2003; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact sections eleven and thirteen, article two, chapter thirty-eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to mechanics' liens; correcting inadvertent omissions in the two thousand two revision; and altering the periods for perfecting liens against the owner's property for debts owed by the contractor or subcontractor to a supplier of materials or equipment and to a mechanic or laborer who provided construction from seventy-five days to one hundred days.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections eleven and thirteen, article two, chapter thirty-eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. MECHANICS' LIENS.

§38-2-11. Notice and recordation of lien for supplies furnished to contractor or subcontractor.

For the purpose of perfecting and preserving his or her lien, every materialman or furnisher of machinery or other necessary equipment, who shall have furnished material, machinery or equipment under a contract with any contractor or with any subcontractor, as set forth in section four of this article, within seventy-five one hundred days after he or she shall have ceased to furnish such material or machinery or other equipment, shall give to the owner or his or her authorized agent, by any of the methods provided by law for the service of a legal notice or summons, a notice of such lien, which notice shall be sufficient if in form and effect as follows:
Notice of Mechanic's Lien.
To...................
You will please take notice that the undersigned ............... has furnished and delivered to ............... who was contractor with you (or subcontractor with ..............., who was contractor with you, as the case may be) for use in the erection and construction (or repair, removal, improvement or otherwise, as the case may be) of (here list the buildings or other structure or improvement to be charged) on the real estate known as (here insert an adequate and ascertainable description of the real estate to be charged) and the said materials were of the nature and were furnished on the dates and in the quantities and at the price as shown in the following account thereof:
(Here insert itemized account.)
You are further notified that the undersigned has not been paid the sum of $....... (or that there is still due and owing to the undersigned thereon the sum of $........) and that he claims a lien upon your interest in the said lot (or tract) of land and upon the buildings, structures and improvements thereon, to secure the payment of the said sum.
........................
State of West Virginia,
County of ................, being first duly sworn, upon his oath says that the statements in the foregoing notice of lien contained are true, as he verily believes.
Taken, subscribed and sworn to before me this ....... day of .............., 20.....
My commission expires ........................
....................
(Official Capacity)
But the lien shall be discharged and avoided, unless, within one hundred days after such materialman or other furnisher of machinery or other necessary equipment shall have ceased to furnish such materials or machinery or other equipment, he or she shall cause to be recorded in the office of the clerk of the county commission of the county wherein such property is situate a notice of such lien, which notice shall be sufficient if in form and effect as that provided in section eight of this article and which recorded notice need not include such itemized account.
§38-2-13. Notice and recordation of lien of mechanic or laborer working for contractor or subcontractor.

For the purpose of perfecting and preserving his or her lien, every workman, artisan, mechanic, laborer or other person who shall have performed any work or labor upon the building or improvement thereto, under a contract with any general contractor or with any subcontractor, as set forth in section six of this article, shall cause to be given to the owner, or his or her authorized agent, by any of the methods provided by law for the service of a legal notice or summons, within seventy-five one hundred days after he or she shall have ceased to perform any such work or labor, a notice of the lien, which notice shall be sufficient, if in form and effect as follows:
Notice of Mechanic's Lien.
To..................
You will please take notice that the undersigned has performed work and labor under a contract with ............... who was general contractor with you (or who was subcontractor with ..............., who was general contractor with you) in the erection and construction (or removal, repair, improvement or otherwise, as the case may be) of a certain building (or other structure or improvement) on real estate known as (here insert an adequate and ascertainable description of the real estate to be charged) and that the work and labor was of the kind, was performed on the dates, for the purposes and at the prices, as shown in the following itemized account thereof:
(Here insert itemized account.)
You are further notified that the undersigned has not been paid the sum of $...... (or that there is still due and owing to the undersigned thereon the sum of $......) and that he claims a lien upon your interest in the said lot (or tract) of land and upon the buildings, structures and improvements thereon to secure the payment of the sum.
.....................
State of West Virginia,
County of .............., being first duly sworn, upon his oath says that the statements in the foregoing notice of mechanic's lien contained are true, as he verily believes.
Taken, subscribed and sworn to before me this .......... day of ................., 20......
My commission expires ..........
........................
(Official Capacity)
But the lien shall be discharged, unless such workman, artisan, mechanic, laborer or other person shall cause to be recorded in the office of the clerk of the county commission wherein such property is situate, within one hundred days after he or she shall have ceased to do work or perform labor upon the building or improvement thereto, a notice of the lien, which notice shall be sufficient if in form and effect as that provided in section eight of this article and which recorded notice need not include such itemized account.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to enlarge from 75 to 100 days the mechanics' lien perfection period against an owner's property for money owed to suppliers and laborers by a contractor or subcontractor, which is what was intended in the 2002 change in the statute.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.