(a)  Any and all liens under the provisions of § 34-28-1, 34-28-2, 34-28-3, or 34-28-7 regardless of the mailing and filing of a notice of intention under § 34-28-4 or any exemption therefrom, shall be void and wholly lost to any person claiming a lien under those sections, unless the person shall file a complaint to enforce the lien, described in § 34-28-13, in the superior court for the county in which is situated the land upon which the building, canal, turnpike, railroad, or other improvement is being or has been constructed, erected, altered, or repaired, and unless such person shall also file in the records of land evidence in the city or town in which such land is located a notice of lis pendens, described in § 34-28-11, the complaint to be filed on the same day as the notice of lis pendens, or within seven (7) days thereafter, and both the complaint and the notice of lis pendens to be filed within forty (40) days of the date of the recording of the notice of intention provided in § 34-28-4 and § 34-28-7. The lien of any person under § 34-28-1, 34-28-2, 34-28-3 or 34-28-7 who fails to file a complaint and notice of lis pendens under this section within the required forty (40) day period, shall be void and wholly lost as to work done or materials furnished prior to the two hundred (200) day period, regardless of the fact that the person may thereafter do other work or furnish other materials in the course of the same construction, erection, alteration, or reparation.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 34-28-10

  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • materials: when used in this chapter shall also include the rental or lease of any equipment. See Rhode Island General Laws 34-28-3.1
  • Person: as used in this chapter means corporations, partnerships, or other organizations or entities, except that the words "individual person" means only a natural person. See Rhode Island General Laws 34-28-34
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9

(b)  The power of sale contained in a mortgage on any real property subject to a lien created by this chapter shall not be effected by the filing of a notice of lien as provided in § 34-28-4 and § 34-28-7, provided, however, the power of sale shall be suspended by the filing of a complaint to enforce as provided in this section and the power of sale shall only be exercised thereafter in accordance with the provisions of § 34-28-16.1.

History of Section.
P.L. 1965, ch. 235, § 1; P.L. 1991, ch. 328, § 1; P.L. 2006, ch. 630, § 1.