When Randhurst failed to pay the balance, Tefco filed a claim for a mechanic’s lien (“Claim”). The Claim was completed on a preprinted legal form and contained: (1) a legal description of the property; (2) the property’s commonly known address; (3) a brief statement describing the contract; and (4) the balance due Tefco. The Claim was executed by Tefco’s President, but did not contain an affidavit verifying the information set forth in the Claim.
To enforce a mechanic’s lien, a contractor must comply with the prerequisites of Section 7 of the Illinois Mechanics Lien Act (“Act”). Under Section 7, a claim for lien must: (1) be filed within four months after the completion of work; (2) be verified by an affidavit of the claimant or the claimant’s agent or employee; (3) contain a brief statement of the contract; (4) set forth the balance due; and (5) provide a sufficiently correct description of the lot, lots or tracts of land against which the lien is claimed.
Upon Tefco’s filing suit to foreclose the Claim, Randhurst asserted the Claim was unenforceable because it was not verified by an appropriate affidavit. Tefco responded by arguing a claim for a mechanic’s lien, which is signed by an agent or employee of the lien claimant but not verified, should be enforceable where there is no prejudice to third parties. To hold otherwise would defeat the purpose of the Act and result in a windfall to Randhurst. Thus, Tefco maintained, granting Randhurst’s motion for summary judgment based solely on the fact that the Claim was not verified would be a “hyper-technical” reading of the statute and would create an unfair result.
The court rejected Tefco’s argument, noting that Section 7 of the Act specifically requires such verification. Moreover, while no Illinois case has directly addressed the consequences of a failure to verify a claim for mechanic’s lien, other jurisdictions have held that the failure to include a verification invalidates the claim. Thus, Tefco’s failure to verify the Claim as required by the Act rendered the Claim unenforceable.
The Tefco case provides another example of why it is important for contractors to use extreme care when filing a claim for mechanic’s lien. The failure to follow the technical requirements of the Act can render a claim unenforceable.