California Civil Code Section 3264 and the Ghost of the Equitable Lien

Construction lenders in California have long been haunted by the judicially created equitable lien, by which contractors and materialmen have been permitted to gain security for unpaid work while evading established statutory procedures. Civil Code section 3264 is the most recent statute enacted by the California Legislature in its effort to quash the equitable lien; nonetheless, claimants persist in attempting to resurrect this nonstatutory remedy, and the trial courts have proven reluctant to move forcefully against it. The author contends that the mandate of Civil Code section 3264 is sufficiently unambiguous to require that the California courts bury the spectre of the equitable lien once and for all