How do you appeal a mechanics lien?

Answer 1

I am an attorney in Cleveland, Ohio, so I am speaking from the perspective on Ohio laws. There are some passive and some aggressive ways to contest a Mechanic's Lien. First the aggressive ways. You can force the hand of the lien claimant by either serving them with a notice to commence suit or by filing a lawsuit yourself for declaratory judgment. The declaratory judgment is fairly uncommon for this purpose, I have seen it done once since I have started practice in 1984. The Mechanic's Lien statute offers the project owner only one strong way to contest the lien. That is by forcing the lien claimant to either file a foreclosure action on the lien within 60 days of the date that they were served with the notice or lose its lien rights. The problem with serving a notice to commence suit is that you may get what you asked for. Don't ask unless you are prepared for it. Even if the lien is a bad lien, you will still have to defend yourself in court and try to prove the lien bad. Again in Ohio, if you are a homeowner and the lien is against your residence, you also have a paid in full defense (this defense is not available in commercial projects). You can give notice of payment in full under the statute and turn the statute against the lien claimant as, if they do not release the lien and you prove in court that you are right about payment in full, the lien claimant will be responsible for all of your resulting damamges, including attorneys fees. I have attached some articles that I wrote for the Builders Exchange Magazine that you might find interesting.

Answer 2

any lien is challengable in superior court or small claims, depending on amount of lien.

Answer 3

Sue.