Lee R. Schroeder is an Ohio licensed attorney with Schroeder Law LLC in Ottawa. He limits his practice to business, real estate, estate planning and agriculture issues in northwest Ohio. He can be reached at lee@leeschroeder.com or at (419) 523-5523. This article is not intended to serve as legal advice, and specific advice should be sought from the licensed attorney of your choice based upon the specific facts and circumstances that you face.
While there are two types of mechanics’ liens in Ohio, they’re not related to each other in any way. Traditional mechanics’ liens happen when a mechanic who works on motor vehicles repairs a vehicle, and the vehicle owner doesn’t pay for the repairs. The mechanic can then keep possession of the vehicle, and this is called a traditional mechanics’ lien. The other type of mechanics’ lien in the state of Ohio is a lien for labor or materials that were provided to an improvement project on real estate or a building. This is sometimes referred to as a real estate mechanics’ lien.
When people ask me about mechanics’ liens, I always have to ask for more details. There are two types of mechanics’ liens in Ohio, and they are not related to each other in any way, even though they share the same name.
Traditionally, people think of mechanics as the people who work on motor vehicles. Sometimes, these mechanics can keep possession of a vehicle upon which repairs were made, if the repairs are not paid for. This is a traditional mechanics’ lien. There is no filing or formal process for this lien to be used. The mechanic’s power to retain the vehicle is the lien.
Read more about mechanics’ liens in the state of Ohio and the differences between the two types of liens in Lee’s article in the Lima News here: Legal-Ease: Two types of mechanics’ liens
Source: LimaOhio.com, “Legal-Ease: Two types of mechanics’ liens,” by Lee R. Schroeder, November 28, 2015