Q: We had a mechanics lien filed against us in Alabama. The 6 month period lapsed. How do we remove the lien?

A: It is the law that once six months passes without suit being filed after the debt matures the lien is said to not have been "perfected" as required by law, and so at that point the lien is no longer effective. The specific statute of limitations on the matter is Section 35-11-221 Code of Ahlabama, which reads: "Any action for the enforcement of the lien declared in this division must be commenced within six months after the maturity of the entire indebtedness secured thereby, except as otherwise provided in this division."

The above is not real clear so we look to the decisions of the Alabama Supreme Court to see what it means, and we find that in the case of Greene v. Thompson, 554 So. 2d 376 (Alabama Supreme Court 1989) that court wrote:

"The lien comes into existence immediately when one provides any materials or performs labor upon the property but remains inchoate unless a statement of lien is timely filed with the judge of probate of the county in which the property is situated (§ 35-11-213), and unless suit is timely filed to perfect the mechanic's lien (§ 35-11-221)."

That's still not too clear because of the use of the word "inchoate", which is a word used only by judges and lawyers, as near as I can determine. "Inchoate" means "incomplete" or "not perfected" or "inoperative because something essential was not done to complete or 'perfect' it." In plain English what this means to you is that the lien evaporated when suit wasn't timely filed and is no longer an encumbrance on the title to your land. You can't erase what's in the record but what's in the record is now inoperative and meaningless so you can forget about it.

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