Home » Articles » Titles » How To File Mechanic’s Lien and Storage Lien
Are you a licensed automotive repair shop or a storage facility stuck with an abandoned vehicle? If so, you may be eligible to file for a mechanic’s lien or storage lien to recover the costs of repairing or storing an abandoned vehicle.
A mechanic’s lien is a legal right that attaches to real property (in this case, the property being the vehicle) and protects mechanics who have done work on a car. Mechanics are able to file liens against cars after they have performed repairs/repairs on them because they have been damaged by the owner. The purpose of this law is to prevent mechanics from having their work go unpaid by people who abandon their cars before paying for repairs.
A storage lien is similar in nature to a mechanic’s lien, but it is allowed to be filed by storage facilities that do not necessarily repair motor vehicles and requires that you first store the abandoned vehicle before filing for one. The storage lien gives you priority over other creditors who may want to claim their property back from storage facilities.
The mechanic’s lien process starts with your filing a lien claim with the county clerk’s office in the county where the vehicle is stored. To file a mechanic’s lien or storage lien, follow all instructions for notification of the owner and lienholders. You will likely have to post ads in a circulating newspaper and will likely be required to auction off the vehicle at a public auction after the mechanic’s lien process is complete. If you don’t take action within the appropriate time frame, you risk losing your right to collect on your mechanic’s lien or storage lien claim.
A mechanic’s lien or storage lien must be filed within a specific amount of time. Your county will determine the applicable time frame.
In most states, the deadline for filing a mechanic’s lien is 30 days after you’ve been paid in full. If you don’t file within that time frame, you may lose your right to file a lien claim. In some states, the filing deadline is longer than 30 days after payment. You should check with your county clerk or DMV to find out what the deadline is in your state. Some states allow mechanics to extend this deadline if they can prove that they made every reasonable effort to notify their customer of the need for payment but were unable to do so because of an unforeseen event such as fire or natural disaster.
When it comes to filing a mechanic’s lien, there are several steps that you must take. While the exact steps depend on your state laws, you will typically need to file a notice at the courthouse where the vehicle is located, publish a legal notice in a local newspaper, send a notice to the owner of the abandoned vehicle, and place a notice on the car itself. The benefits of filing a mechanic’s lien or storage lien are immense for automotive repair and storage facilities. Before filing, make sure you know your state’s process so you can get the payday you’ve been waiting for.
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