Mechanic's Liens

Seasons-4, Inc v Hertz Corp, 338 Ill App 3d 565, 788 NE2d 179, 272 Ill Dec 875 (1st D 2003).

Facts: Seasons-4, Inc. brought suit against Hertz Corporation (Hertz) to foreclose a mechanic's lien on a custom-built air conditioning system that Seasons-4, Inc. installed in Hertz's office at O'Hare Field in Chicago. Hertz had hired Crown Temperature Engineers, Inc. (Crown) as general contractor to improve their O'Hare Field office, but Crown failed to pay Seasons-4, Inc. for its work as subcontractor. In claiming proper notice under Section 24 of the Mechanics Lien Act (Act), 770 ILCS 60/24, Seasons-4, Inc. relied on a note addressed to an engineer at Crown but additionally faxed to an agent of Hertz that gives the amount of payment overdue, the invoice number for their work, and a cancellation of any warranties on the air conditioning system.

Holding: The appellate court affirmed the lower court's decision in favor of Hertz, finding that Seasons-4, Inc. did not properly follow the written notice requirements of Section 24 of the Act. First, the plain language of the Act mandated that written notice must be provided by "registered or certified mail, with return receipt requested, and delivery limited to addressee only, to or personally served on the owner of record or his agent or architect…" and gave no indication of an actual notice standard. The court held that it should not step into the legislative arena by allowing notice through fax. Additionally, the court differentiated situations where technical deficiencies were overlooked after notice was provided by mail and actual notice existed. Second, the court found that the format of the alleged notice provided by Seasons-4, Inc. did not conform to the provisions of the Act. While indicating that all warranties were suspended, the fax did not contain the terms "claim" or "mechanic's lien," and it did not indicate a legal interest in the property. Furthermore, the fax was not specific in its description of the property and was directed to an agent of Crown while only being sent indirectly to Hertz.

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