Oregon law requires a lien claimant to perfect its lien by recording it within 75 days of ceasing to “provide labor, rent equipment, or furnish materials or 75 days after completion of construction, whichever is earlier.” An unpaid contractor must record its lien 75 days after completion of its major contract work and removal of its equipment, and a project owner should be able to have confidence there will be no subcontractor liens 75 days after each subcontractor completes its work and no further liens 75 days after the project is completed. In my latest article for the Daily Journal of Commerce, I look at a case in which the law of unintended consequences worked against the Oregon legislature’s intention that the mechanic’s lien laws be relatively straightforward. Read the article here.
Originally published as “OP-ED: Be aware (or beware!) of extended mechanic’s lien rights” by the Daily Journal of Commerce, Nov. 14, 2019.