Legal Question in Construction Law in California
Can a mechanic's lien be completely removed from the county recorder's record? The contractor released the invalid and retaliatory mechanic's lien after I threatened to have an attorney do so at their expense. They complied but I'm not happy that there is still a record of a lien and the release doesn't indicate that it was never paid because the contractor wasn't owed the money and it was purely vindictive behavior. Can it be totally expunged? I don't wanted creditors to believe I was a flake and didn't pay for services until a lien was placed. Thanks for your time.
2 Answers from Attorneys
No, total expungement is not possible insofar as I know; however, the Civil Code does provide a procedure that supplements the routine expiration of mechanic's liens that aren't prosecuted. It is described at CC section 3154 as a "release" and since it only applies to liens that have become unenforceable anyway I think its value is largely cosmetic, but maybe that's helpful in itself to a lot of property owners. The law provides for recovery of attorney fees. Getting such a release may also demonstrate to creditors that it was the contractor who was the flake.
The county recorder's records are a permenant record of all matters presented to the recorder pertaining to any parcel of real property in the county. They are a history of voluntary and involuntary, agreed and disputed, true and false claims to interests in any real property in the county. As such, they cannot be altered or expunged.
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