As most contractors are aware, in Connecticut, you have 90 days after the last day that you supply labor and/or materials to file a mechanic’s lien. Many other states have the same or a similar requirement pertaining to when a mechanic’s lien can be filed. The question that is often asked is which “last day” starts the clock.
In a common scenario, additional work is performed more than 90 days after what was originally thought to be the last day worked and the contractor then claims that the second last day starts a new 90 days clock to file a mechanic’s lien. Sometimes such mechanic’s liens are upheld but they are typically invalidated. The reason is that the typical scenario involves a contractor – who has not been paid – realizes that his time to file a mechanic’s lien has expired so he returns to the site to perform a minor punchlist item that was inadvertently left undone initially. Generally speaking, to restart the mechanic’s lien clock, a contractor must perform substantive work that was authorized by the owner or someone rightfully acting on the owner’s behalf. The most recent guidance on this issue was provided by the Connecticut Appellate Court in Cianci v.