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Carter-Fleming v. Kirby Building Systems, Inc.
Citations: 270 Ark. 149; 603 S.W.2d 421; 1980 Ark. LEXIS 1583Docket: 80-104
Court: Supreme Court of Arkansas; September 8, 1980; Arkansas; State Supreme Court
Actual notice to a landowner is required before a mechanics’ lien can be enforced against their property, as mandated by the statute. In this case, a lien filed by Khilco Industrial Electric, Inc. against appellants, Carter-Fleming, was assigned to August Khilling. The assignment was documented on February 12, 1977, but the appellants were not notified until August 17, 1977, when Khilling sought to enforce the lien. The court noted that the assignor continued to assert an interest in the lien for six months after the assignment and that there was a seven-month delay before the appellants received notice, which was only through litigation. The court emphasized the importance of actual notice, asserting that while the statute does not specify a time limit for such notice, it should be reasonably contemporaneous with the assignment. The failure to provide timely notice effectively undermines the statutory requirement, leading to the enforcement being invalid. Thus, the court reversed the previous enforcement decision, with dissent from Chief Justice Fogleman and Justices Holt and Stroud.