Brown Co. v. Appellate Department

Brown Company, doing business as Livingston-Graham (Livingston), sued in the municipal court to enforce a mechanic’s lien. The trial court awarded judgment to Livingston on the mechanic’s lien, but in a published opinion the appellate department of the superior court reversed the judgment on the ground the preliminary notice mandatorily required by Civil Code section 3097 was invalid. After the appellate department denied Livingston’s request to certify the case to this court (see Cal. Rules of Court, rule 63), Livingston petitioned this court for a writ of review/mandate. We issued a writ of review.

Facts

The appeal to the appellate department of the superior court was taken on a settled statement of facts from which the following facts appear.

Arthur W. Crawford (Crawford) entered into a written contract with East Valley Development (East Valley), a general contractor, for the construction of Crawford’s personal residence on a lot he and his wife owned in Highland. East Valley in turn entered into a contract with Livingston pursuant to which Livingston was to furnish ready-mix concrete to the jobsite for use in construction of the house.

In connection with the…