J. H. Thompson Corp. v. DC Contractors
Opinion
Opinion
Vogel, J.
The issue presented by this case is whether a public entity’s failure to give the notice required by section 3185 of the Civil Code concerning the deadline for filing an action to enforce a stop notice affects the entity’s right to rely on the statute of limitations otherwise applicable to stop notice actions. We hold that it does.
Facts
The California Department of Water Resources awarded a general contract for construction work to DC Contractors. DC hired Moss Construction as a subcontractor and Moss obtained its equipment from J. H. Thompson Corporation. On May 31, 1985, Moss filed a petition in bankruptcy. On June 7, the Department recorded a notice of completion. On June 18, Thompson sent a stop notice to the Department, claiming it was owed $57,791.58 plus interest by Moss. (§§ 3103, 3184.) On the same day, Thompson served on the Department a request for notice of expiration of the stop notice period (so it would know when it had to file a lawsuit) and paid the $2 statutory notice fee. (§ 3185.) On June 20, the Department acknowledged receipt of Thompson’s stop notice and thereafter withheld $72,239.48 from the amounts due to DC.