Gem Plumbing v. Rossi; F.C.C., Inc. v. Reuter (Rhode Island Supreme Court)

This related cases involve a constitutional challenge to the Rhode Island Mechanics’ Lien Law (R.I. G.L. 1956 §§ 34-28-1 et seq.) The Rhode Island Superior Court held in both cases that the law violates due process because it encumbers private property without adequate procedural safeguards. Those decisions had been appealed to the Rhode Island Supreme Court. These cases were brought to NELF’s attention by the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, which had already submitted an amicus brief supporting the Mechanics’ Lien statute against the constitutional challenge. NELF’s principal concern with the Superior Court’s decision is that it failed to recognize the long-standing purpose behind mechanics’ lien statutes, which is to ensure payment for the time, labor, and money that the contractor invests in the affected property. If the Superior Court’s decisions were upheld, they would deprive the owners of construction businesses in Rhode Island of a meaningful and effective remedy against delinquent customers, with adverse economic consequences on the construction industry of Rhode Island. The Rhode Island Supreme Court granted NELF's motion for permission to file an amicus brief in these cases which would focus on showing that the Superior Court’s decision that Connecticut v. Doehr, 501 U.S. 1 (1991), required a finding that the Rhode Island Mechanics’ Lien Law was constitutional. NELF argued that, to the contrary, under Doehr, due process does not require a pre-deprivation hearing in every situation, but rather that Doehr holds that due process involves a more flexible balancing test that weights the particular vulnerability of the defendant against the plaintiff’s interest in the affected property. The weighing test in this case favors contractors' strong business need to secure payment their work against the small impediment to property owners' rights caused by a recorded mechanics lien. The Rhode Island Supreme Court agreed with NELF and found the Rhode Island Mechanic's Lien Law constitutional. 867 A.2d 796 (RI 2005).