Ditchmen • NUCA of Florida Ditchmen - June 2020 | Page 4

The Law and Your Business-
Notice of Commencement
and Priorities
Tony Zebouni,
Lindell Farson &
Zebouni, P.A.
A general contractor
executed and recorded a
notice of commencement
on January 7, 2014 that
was accurate, with the
exception that it was
not signed by the owner of the property.
Notwithstanding, the owner was aware
of the general contractor’s notice of
commencement and made no objection
to the same, nor did the owner terminate
the general contractor’s January 7, 2014,
notice of commencement. No lender
was listed on the January 7, 2014, general
contractor’s notice of commencement.
The following day, January 8, 2014, BB&T
recorded a mortgage against the subject
property and recorded its own notice
of commencement, listing BB&T as the
lender. BB&T’s notice of commencement
was signed by the owner of the property.
A subcontractor who contracted with the
general contractor to perform construction
improvements on the property, served
a notice to owner pursuant to section
713.06(2)(a) and eventually recorded a
construction claim of lien against the
property on September 25, 2014, for work
performed. When efforts to collect the
monies due under the lien failed, the
subcontractor filed suit to foreclose its
lien free and clear from all other claims --
including BB&T’s claim. BB&T took no issue
with the form and substance of the claim of
lien itself, nor did it contest the perfecting
of the claim of lien.
A notice of commencement serves two
main purposes. First, it serves to protect the
owner by providing a trigger date for when
the statute of limitations begins to run.
Second, and equally important, the notice
of commencement serves to provide a
lienor with the necessary information for
purposes of serving the required notice
to owner under section 713.06(2)(a),
thereby perfecting the lien. The notice of
commencement is in essence a roadmap
for the lienor and contains the name of the
owner of the real property to be improved;
the description of the real property; the
name of the general contractor, surety, and
lender; and where the formal notices to the
owner are to be sent and who is to receive
copies of the same. § 713.13(1)(a).
The general contractor’s January 7,
2014, notice of commencement in this
case substantially complied with the
requirements of section 713.13 because it
contained all of the relevant and required
information that satisfied the dual purposes
of the notice of commencement: (1) to
measure time limitations and (2) to provide
the lienor with the current names and
2 DITCHMEN • JUNE 2020