Cyclonaire Corp v ISG Riverdale, Inc

378 Ill App 3d 554, 882 NE2d 684, 317 Ill Dec 804 (1st D 2007)

Facts: ISG Riverdale (ISG) owned and operated a steel mill, and contracted with a general contractor to build a new delivery system for the mill. The general contractor elicited bids for the production and delivery of necessary parts, and Cyclonaire was selected. Cyclonaire finished shipping parts on December 16, 2003, and thereafter had to make several efforts to repair and replace faulty parts. On May 4, 2004, Cyclonaire filed a lien claim against ISG.

ISG argued that the filing was untimely, falling outside the 90 days allowed by the act. Cyclonaire suggested that their service and repairs did not end until February 6, 2004, extending the time for filing the lien claim. The trial court found that the work extending into 2004 was nonlienable warranty work, and the claim was not timely. Cyclonaire appealed, arguing the decision was against the manifest weight of the evidence.

Holding: Affirmed. On appeal the court held that the lower court's decision was not against the manifest weight of the evidence. The Mechanics Lien Act (Act) requires a subcontractor to send or serve its notice of lien claim with 90 days after "completion" of the work for it to be enforceable. 770 ILCS 60/24(a). Witnesses had testified that the equipment arrived functioning improperly and needing to be repaired, and that the contract specified that installation was going to be done "by others." Thusly, Cyclonaire's part of the project was specifically limited to delivery which was completed on December 16, 2003. The subsequent work was merely warranty work. The court also noted that the final invoice was sent on December 31, 2003, which date and serves as a completion date for Cyclonaire's part of the project. The court held that it is "well settled" that subsequent repair work cannot extend the Act's strict filing deadlines.

Opinion Year: 
2008
Jurisdiction: 
Illinois
By: ATG Underwriting Department | Posted on: Wed, 09/03/2008 - 3:47pm