Lien Away As It's An Absolutely Protected Right In California

The California Court of Appeal recently held that the recording of a lis pendens in connection with a mechanic's lien foreclosure action is protected by the litigation privilege and cannot support a slander of title claim, even if the underlying lien claim lacked any evidentiary merit. As a practical matter, this holding makes clear that contractors, suppliers and other mechanic's lien claimants working on private projects should record their mechanic's liens (and, later, a lis pendens as part of their foreclosure actions) when in doubt about being paid given that their recording of such instruments is an absolutely protected activity that does not give rise to a property owner's cross-claim for slander of title.

In Alpha & Omega Development, LP v. Whillock Contracting, Inc., 11 C.D.O.S. 13552 (Ct. App., Nov. 2, 2011), a contractor...