Contents
Overview
Sources
Minn. Stat. §§ 514.01 et seq.
Authorized Claimants
Whoever performs engineering or land surveying services with respect to real estate, or contributes to the improvement of real estate by performing labor, or furnishing skill, material or machinery for any of the purposes hereinafter stated, whether under contract with the owner of such real estate or at the instance of any agent, trustee, contractor or subcontractor of such owner, shall have a lien upon the improvement, and upon the land on which it is situated (Minn. Stat. 2017 Chap. 414, Sec. 514.01)
Lien Priority
All liens, as against the owner of the land, shall attach and take effect from the time the first item of material or labor is furnished upon the premises for the beginning of the improvement, and shall be preferred to any mortgage or other encumbrance not then of record, unless the lienholder had actual notice thereof. As against a bona fide purchaser, mortgagee, or encumbrancer without actual or record notice, no lien shall attach prior to the actual and visible beginning of the improvement on the ground (Minn. Stat. Chap. 514, Sec 514.05, Subd. 1)
Notices and Registries
Filing Deadlines
The lien ceases at the end of 120 days after doing the last of the work, or furnishing the last item of skill, material, or machinery, unless within this period: (1) a statement of the claim is filed for record with the county recorder or, if registered land, with the registrar of titles of the county in which the improved premises are situated, or, if the claim is made under section 514.04, with the secretary of state; and (2) a copy of the statement is served personally or by certified mail on the owner or the owner's authorized agent or the person who entered into the contract with the contractor. (Minn. Stat. 2017, Chap. 514, Sec. 514.08, Sub. 1, (1) & (2))
Enforcement Deadlines
No lien shall be enforced in any case unless the holder thereof shall assert the same, either by filing a complaint or answer with the court administrator, within one year after the date of the last item of the claim as set forth in the recorded lien statement and, as to a bona fide purchaser, mortgagee, or encumbrancer without notice, the absence from the record of a notice of lis pendens of an action after the expiration of the year in which the lien could be so asserted shall be conclusive evidence that the lien may no longer be enforced (Minn. Stat. Chap. 514, Sec 514.12, Subd. 3)
