A contractor did nothing including no contact for over 90 days - can he put a lien now? [closed]

Question

Suppose a person A had a contractor B do work on A's home that ended six months ago and then there was some followup paperwork that last had action in April. The last communication was in May.

Suppose that in September B is trying to come back to have A pay some bills.

I had read that after 90 days of no work done that liens can not be placed Washington State liens.

When Is Final Notice Given?

Filed within 90 days after claimant’s last delivery or last date on which employee benefit contributions were due. NOTE that a copy of the notice must also be sent to the owner by certified or registered mail, or personally served within FOURTEEN (14) days of filing the claim. Failure to do so forfeits any right to attorneys’ fees and costs against the owner.

B has not done any work on A's home in six months and only some very light work on bills negotiation over four months before. Can B really obtain a lien this late? Does the law permit this?

Answer 1

The actual law (not just an interpretive summary) does indeed require that a lien for improvements be recorded within 90 days "after the person has ceased to furnish labor, professional services, materials, or equipment or the last date on which employee benefit contributions were due". In Brashear Electric, Inc. v. Norcal Properties, LLC, the court even held that repairs done later to repair non-conforming work did not "reset the clock". (Intermountain Elec., Inc. v. G-A-T Bros. Constr., Inc. addresses some confusion that comes from other jurisdictions (Arizona for example) where a lien can only be recorded after the project is finished, that

Because completion is a statutory prerequisite for filing a lien, the courts there create an exception where work is interrupted or abandoned. That is not the rule in Washington. Our statute expressly provides that the materialman need not wait until the completion of the project. He or she can file a lien immediately upon completion of the work for which compensation is due. Not only may the materialman file, he or she must do so within 90 days or lose the right. RCW 60.04.091(2).