United Rentals Northwest, Inc. v. Snider Lumber Products, Inc.

In this action to foreclose on a mechanic’s lien on land, the trial court granted the landowner’s motion to remove the lien, holding that the work done did not constitute a “work of improvement” and therefore did not give rise to a lien under the mechanic’s lien statutes. The work, however, was a removal of buildings, which is included in the statutory definition of a “work of improvement.” We reverse the judgment and publish due to the lack of case law applying the statutes to removals of buildings.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORIES

Defendants Snider Lumber Products, Inc., and Sierra Pacific Industries (Snider and Sierra) owned a sawmill at Chinese Camp in Tuolumne County. In 2006, the sawmill was retooled and some of its facilities became unnecessary, including 10 lumber drying kilns.

The 10 kilns were divided into two groups, called upper and lower. The upper kilns were each 68 feet long and 20 feet high. Each was 16 feet wide and they stood side by side—a total width of 80 feet—on a concrete slab to which they were bolted. They were constructed with steel frames and aluminum walls with foam insulation. Railroad tracks were set into the concrete foundation so that…