An owner hired a registered professional engineer under a written contract to design a warehouse and obtained the building permit with those drawings, then shelved the project and never paid the fee. The owner still owns the site. May the engineer record a lien?
Explanation
Civil Code §8302 creates a lien on the site for a design professional NOTWITHSTANDING the absence of commencement of the planned work of improvement — that is exactly the situation the chapter exists for. The conditions are all present here: a person described in §8014 (a registered professional engineer), services under a written contract with the landowner, a building permit or other governmental approval obtained in furtherance of the work, and the contracting landowner still owning the site when the claim of lien is recorded. Had no permit been obtained, no lien could be created at all.
Law Reference: Civil Code §8302; §8300; §8014This topic, taught in full in the CSLB Law & Business guide. CSLB Law & Business — Complete Study Guide (2026) — PDF + EPUB, $24.99 · 14-day refund →
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