Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., Wins Discharge and Cancellation of Mechanic’s Lien
The shareholders of a Manhattan cooperative apartment hired a contractor to renovate their unit. To their dismay, despite disputes over work quality, charges, and payments, the contractor filed a mechanic’s lien for $159,000. Further complicating matters, the cooperative served upon the shareholders a notice to cure, which alleged that the filing of the lien violated the proprietary lease and threatened their tenancy and apartment ownership. The shareholders turned to Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., for help.
Under New York Lien Law § 10, when work or materials relate to a single-family dwelling, a mechanic’s lien must be filed within four months after the completion of the contract, the final performance of work, or the furnishing of materials. New York Lien Law § 19(b) provides for the discharge of an untimely lien. Our research confirmed that New York courts hold that a cooperative apartment is treated as a single-family dwelling for the purposes of establishing the time limits for filing a mechanic’s lien.
Here, the contractor performed work solely concerning the shareholders’ cooperative apartment, which did not involve work to the building’s common areas or improvements for the common benefit of the building. As a result, the cooperative apartment qualified as a single-family dwelling under the statute.
The contractor filed the lien more than four months after the completion of the work.
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., informed the cooperative’s attorney of our intentions to take immediate steps to resolve the lien, and secured an extension concerning the cooperative’s notice to cure, without the need to post a bond or undertaking to secure the lien.
We sent the contractor a demand letter to withdraw the lien. When the contractor ignored the letter, we promptly filed an order to show cause and petition in the New York County Supreme Court seeking the discharge and cancellation of the lien pursuant to New York Lien Law § 19(b).
The Court agreed and granted the petition. Because the mechanic’s lien was filed beyond the four-month statutory period required by New York Lien Law § 10, the Court determined that the lien was untimely and therefore invalid. The Court ordered that the lien be discharged and cancelled.
We then worked with the judgment and lien clerk to ensure that the lien was officially discharged and cancelled.
Finally, we reported the discharge of the lien to the cooperative’s attorney, satisfying the cooperative’s demands in the notice to cure to resolve the lien.
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., successfully protected the cooperative shareholders from an improper lien and ensured the prompt removal of the invalid encumbrance from the property.
Litigation partner, Vladimir Mironenko, represented the cooperative shareholders.