Background
The Calixtes hired a general contractor to build a home, and the contractor subcontracted masonry, carpentry, and slab work to Coastal Building Contractors. Coastal completed its work no earlier than December 2022, although the precise completion date was disputed. On February 16, 2023, Coastal recorded a claim of lien that mistakenly identified October 21, 2022, as the completion date.
The homeowners sued for slander of title and a declaration invalidating the lien. Coastal later recorded amended lien claims using a December 2022 completion date, but those amendments came after the statutory 90-day amendment period. The circuit court entered summary judgment for the homeowners, released cash security posted for the lien, and awarded $80,000 in attorney’s fees.
The Court’s Holding
The Fourth District reversed and remanded. Although Coastal could not validly amend its lien after the statutory amendment window, its original lien was recorded within 90 days of the actual completion of work if the December 2022 dates are established. The original notice’s incorrect completion date therefore did not itself make the lien untimely.
The court held that the circuit court applied the wrong prejudice inquiry. Florida Statutes section 713.08 contains safe harbors for negligent errors or omissions that do not prejudice or adversely affect the owner. On remand, the court must determine whether the erroneous date—not the existence of the lien itself—prejudiced the homeowners, such as by impairing their ability to understand or defend against the claim or by inducing detrimental reliance.
Key Takeaways
- A lien’s timeliness turns on the actual date of final furnishing, not solely on an erroneous date stated in the recorded notice.
- An untimely amendment cannot correct a lien notice, but the original timely recorded lien may still be enforceable under section 713.08’s safe harbors.
- The relevant prejudice question is whether the notice error harmed the owner, not whether the lien encumbered the owner’s property.
Why It Matters
The decision preserves a potentially valid construction lien despite a material clerical error in its stated completion date. It also directs trial courts to make a fact-specific prejudice determination before invalidating a timely recorded lien for notice defects.
Fee issues and other remaining matters must be reconsidered on remand.