National Lumber Co. v. LeFrancois Construction Co. (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court)

At the request of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, NELF filed an amicus brief in this case involving the validity of a mechanic’s lien which National Lumber (NL) timely and properly initiated before the property was sold by the developer. NL was required to perfect its lien by recording a statement of claim within thirty days after the date for completion of the contract. NL timely recorded this statement and named the developer as the owner. Unknown to NL, the developer had sold the property shortly before to a third party. After NL sued to enforce its lien, it discovered that the developer no longer owned the property and amended its complaint to add the purchasers as defendants. They contended that the lien had dissolved because the statutory time periods expired before they were named in the suit. The District Court rejected that argument and the Appellate Division affirmed. The SJC took direct appellate review. NELF argued that the purchasers’ effort to avoid liability on a properly recorded mechanic’s lien of which they had record notice threatened the integrity of the recording system and the certainty that it promotes. Without an effective lien system, building suppliers would have to find more expensive and less certain ways to insure full payment, increasing costs of construction and impeding development. The SJC agreed and affirmed.