2023 California Code › Harbors and Navigation Code - HNC › DIVISION 3 - VESSELS › CHAPTER 2 - Civil Actions and Liens › ARTICLE 4 - Boaters Lien Law › Section 502.

502. (a) Except as provided in Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 410) of Chapter 1 of Division 3, every person has a lien dependent upon possession of the vessel for the compensation to which he or she is legally entitled for services rendered to or storage of any vessel subject to registration with the Department of Motor Vehicles. The lien shall arise at the time a written statement of lien is sent to the registered owner of the vessel which specifies the charges for services or storage rendered and states that the vessel is subject to sale pursuant to the California Boater’s Lien Law.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), no lien provided by this section for storage or service provided upon the request of any person other than the legal owner as shown on the registration certificate of the vessel shall be valid against the interest of the legal owner to the extent that the lien exceeds one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) unless the person performing the storage or service obtains the consent of the legal owner to the amount of the excess. The legal owner may limit his or her consent to a specified dollar amount or period of time. The lien claimant shall give actual notice in writing, prior to exceeding that amount, either by personal service or by registered mail to the legal and registered owner or owners as named and at the addresses as shown on the registration certificate, on a standard form provided by the department, containing a description of the storage or services, or both, a description and registration number of the vessel, the name of the registered owner or owners, the dollar amount or rate of the charges for the storage or services, and a statement in boldface type that, with respect to storage charges, consent of the legal owner shall be presumed unless the legal owner notifies the lien claimant within 15 days of receipt of the request for consent that he or she declines to consent to the storage. The lien claimant shall notify the legal owner as shown on the registration certificate of the vessel, by certified mail, that the vessel is subject to sale pursuant to the California Boater’s Lien Law and that the lien claimed exceeds one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500).
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), any claim for the cost of services may exceed the estimate given therefor by an amount not in excess of 10 percent thereof and the lien of the lien claimant shall be valid against the legal owner to the full amount of such excess to the same extent as would be a lien for the original estimate.
(d) With respect to claims for storage charges, a legal owner shall be presumed to consent to storage charges if he or she fails to respond to the request for consent set forth in subdivision (b) within 15 days after receipt thereof, such response to be addressed to the lien claimant at the address stated in the request for consent. In addition, consent in all cases is presumed for the 30-day period immediately following the giving of the request for consent notice.
(e) The legal owner may, upon declining consent, remove the vessel from the lien claimant only upon satisfying the lien of the lien claimant.
(f) Any lien arising under this section shall be extinguished, and no lien sale shall be conducted unless, 60 days after the lien arises, the lienholder does either of the following:
(1) Applies to the department for an authorization to conduct a lien sale.
(2) Files an action on the claim in court.
(g) Nothing in this section shall impair any rights or remedies which are otherwise available to the lien claimant against the registered owner under any other provisions of law.
(Amended by Stats. 1987, Ch. 745, Sec. 4.)