A contractor receives a preliminary 20-day notice from a supplier on March 1st for materials delivered to a project. The project was completed on March 15th. By what date must the supplier file their mechanics' lien?
Correct Answer
A) July 13th
Under A.R.S. 33-992, mechanics' liens must be filed within 120 days after completion of the project. March 15th + 120 days = July 13th.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Under A.R.S. § 33-993, a mechanics' lien must be filed within 120 days after the date of completion of the work or last delivery of materials to the project. The project was completed on March 15th. Counting 120 days forward from March 15th: March has 16 remaining days (March 15 + 16 = March 31), April = 30 days (total: 46), May = 31 days (total: 77), June = 30 days (total: 107), July 1–13 = 13 days (total: 120). The deadline falls on July 13th.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option B: July 15th
July 15th results from starting the 120-day count from March 15 but making an off-by-two error in the day count. It also resembles the project completion date (15th), which may cause candidates to anchor incorrectly to that date.
Option C: August 1st
August 1st corresponds to approximately 139 days from March 15, which would result from miscounting the months or adding 120 days to March 1 (the date of the preliminary notice) rather than March 15 (the completion date). The clock starts at completion, not at the preliminary notice date.
Option D: June 13th
June 13th is approximately 90 days from March 15, not 120 days. This distractor targets candidates who confuse the mechanics' lien deadline (120 days) with other shorter deadlines in Arizona lien law (such as the 20-day preliminary notice period or 90-day periods in other states).
Memory Technique
120 days from COMPLETION. Not from notice, not from delivery — from when the project finished. Write: Completion Date + 120 days = Lien Deadline. For March 15: March(16) + April(30) + May(31) + June(30) = 107 days, then 13 more days into July = July 13.
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