Opinion ID: 2045950
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Mechanic's-Lien Issue.

Text: In No. 98-2075, the mechanic's-lien foreclosure action, the district court concluded that the arbitration award settled the amount owed and unpaid on the project and Crisman's payment of that amount precluded the mechanic's-lien foreclosure action even though there was unpaid interest on the award of $10,274 at the time the foreclosure action was commenced. It granted summary judgment dismissing the action. Although we agree that any interest that might have been recoverable prior to the award must be considered to have been merged in the award, interest owing on the award at the time the foreclosure action was filed was substantial. Iowa Code § 572.2. Under Iowa Code section 572.2, Deerfield's mechanic's lien served to secure payment for the material or labor furnished or labor performed. In Rohlin Construction Co. v. Lakes, Inc., 252 N.W.2d 403 (Iowa 1977), the owner in a mechanic's-lien dispute claimed that interest owed on the unpaid price was not included in the amount secured by the mechanic's lien. We rejected that contention, stating [o]ur cases indicate interest may be recovered in mechanic's lien foreclosure actions. Rohlin, 252 N.W.2d at 408 (citations omitted). We are satisfied that Deerfield's mechanic's lien included unpaid interest on the obligation established in the arbitration award. The district court erred in granting summary judgment for Crisman. That judgment is reversed and the case remanded to the district court for further proceedings. No. 98-1272 AFFIRMED; No. 98-2075 REVERSED AND REMANDED. All justices concur except NEUMAN, J., who takes no part.