Court Opinion

ID: 9574481
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 21:05:21.073684+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:44:36.772692
License: Public Domain

McMurray, Presiding Judge,
dissenting.
As my view of the appropriate resolution of the case sub judice differs from that of the majority, I respectfully dissent.
OCGA § 44-14-361.1 (a) provides in part that: “To make good the liens specified in paragraphs (1) through (8) of subsection (a) of Code Section 44-14-361, they must be created and declared in accordance with the following provisions, and on failure of any of them the lien shall not be effective or enforceable: ... (3) The commencement of an action for the recovery of the amount of his claim within 12 months from the time the same shall become due. In addition, at the time of filing such action, the party claiming the lien shall file a notice with the clerk of the superior court of the county wherein the subject lien was filed . . .” (Emphasis supplied.) Thus, when plaintiff filed the action against Joe Jones, but failed to file, within a reasonable time, the notice of action required by OCGA § 44-14-361.1 (a) (3), the claim of lien was extinguished and rendered, unenforceable. D & T Glass v. Barrow Enterprises, 172 Ga. App. 797 (325 SE2d 170); American Hosp. &c. v. Starline Mfg. Corp., 171 Ga. App. 790, 791-792 (1) (320 SE2d 857).
Jones subsequently filed for bankruptcy. Under OCGA § 44-14-361.1 (a) (4), this had the effect of relieving plaintiff of the necessity of filing an action or obtaining judgment against Jones as a prerequisite to enforcing a lien against the property. However, the necessity of filing an action should be distinguished from the requirement that, at the time of filing the action, a notice be filed with the clerk of the superior court of the county wherein the subject lien was filed.
There is no suggestion in any statutory language that a contractor’s bankruptcy filing would relieve a lienholder, who has in fact filed an action against a contractor under OCGA § 44-14-361.1 (a) (3), of *258its duty to also file the required notice in order to avoid extinguishment of the lien. In my view, such a suggestion appears only in Hancor, Inc. v. Fleming Farms, 155 Ga. App. 579 (271 SE2d 712), and is expressly identified as dicta, and is unsupported by any citation of authority. Consequently, the position stated in Hancor should not be adopted in the case sub judice since it is inconsistent with the general rule that failure to comply with the notice requirement of OCGA § 44-14-361.1 (a) (3) results in extinguishment of the lien. There is no statutory provision for the revival of a materialman’s lien once extinguished.
Decided December 3, 1990
Rehearing denied December 20, 1990
Greene & Greene, Barry B. Greene, for appellant.
W. Morgan Akin, for appellees.
Consequently, I would affirm the trial court.