JUNE 2024 | 11 THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff. A PERSON WHO FURNISHES LABOR OR MATERIALS for the construction or repair of an improvement on real property may obtain a mechanic’s lien1 on the real property to secure payment for the labor or materials.2 Oklahoma lien laws also generally require a “pre-lien notice” to be sent (but not filed) before a lien is filed.3 The time for filing a lien (or, more correctly, a “lien statement”) depends upon whether the lien claimant is a contractor or a subcontractor. The difference between a contractor and a subcontractor is that a contractor deals directly with the owner of the property, while a subcontractor deals with the contractor or another subcontractor.4 WHAT LABOR IS LIENABLE? Persons present and working on the subject property and/or providing materials for the improvement of the property are entitled to a lien.5 Thus, masons, concrete workers, framers, HVAC contractors and all the other workers who are typically considered part of the construction crew are entitled to liens. The services of an architect, a surveyor and an engineer are lien- able provided that the services are used in the work done on the land.6 In Stern v. Great Plains Federal Savings & Loan Association, the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals held: The nature of the work done by an architect, e.g., plans and specifications which are drawn prior to the first work done on the land, is work which is not seen on the land itself. However, it leads to the work which is done on the land. These services are necessary before the actual physical construction upon the land can take place, and without which such construction would not occur. We hold that the services of an architect in the preparation of plans and specifications which are used in the work done on the land are improvements of land and are thus lienable claims under 42 O.S.1981 § 141.7 However, if such services do not result in actual construction (such as when an owner decides not to build the project), the services are not lienable.8 Such “labor ... is lienable only when it results in some actual ‘erection, alteration or repair of any building, improvement or structure thereon.’”9 The court held: “The lien statute contemplates that the land is improved through some ‘erection, alteration or repair’ of a
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