Last Day of Work and Overstating Construction Lien Amount

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In Sam Rodgers Properties, Inc. v. Chmura, 2011 WL 1565446 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011), a home builder sued the purchaser for breach of contract and lien foreclosure.  The Court issued several useful holdings.  First, the fact that there was no meeting of the minds with regard to extra work performed does not invalidate the original executed contract.  Second, additional work performed by the home builder to secure the property which included finishing the roof system acted to extend the “last day of work” for purposes of calculating the 90 days to record the claim of lien. 

Third, the home builder could not include amounts spent on insurance or property taxes for the constructed property in its claim of lien.  However, the inclusion of those amounts did not render the lien invalid.
Finally, the Court held that the filing of an erroneous amended claim of lien did not render the initial claim of lien unenforceable.

Trenton H. Cotney
Board Certified in Construction Law
Trent Cotney, P.A.
1207 N Franklin St, Ste 222
Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 579-3278

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