SUBPART D. CLAIMS AND PRIVILEGES; EFFECTIVENESS;

PRESERVATION; RANKING; EXTINGUISHMENT

§4820. Privileges; effective date

A. The privileges granted by this Part arise and are effective as to third persons when:

(1) Notice of the contract is filed as required by R.S. 9:4811; or

(2) The work is begun by placing materials at the site of the immovable to be used in the work or conducting other work at the site of the immovable the effect of which is visible from a simple inspection and reasonably indicates that the work has begun. For these purposes, services rendered by a surveyor, architect, or engineer, or the driving of test piling, cutting or removal of trees and debris, placing of fill dirt, demolition of existing structures, or leveling of the land surface shall not be considered, nor shall the placing of materials having an aggregate price of less than one hundred dollars on the immovable be considered. For these purposes, the site of the immovable is defined as the area within the boundaries of the property.

B. If the work is for the addition, modification, or repair of an existing building or other construction, that part of the work performed before a third person's rights become effective shall, for the purposes of R.S. 9:4821, be considered a distinct work from the work performed after such rights become effective if the cost of the work done, in labor and materials, is less than one hundred dollars during the thirty-day period immediately preceding the time such third person's rights become effective as to third persons.

C. A person acquiring or intending to acquire a mortgage, privilege, or other right, in or on an immovable may conclusively rely upon an affidavit made by a registered or certified engineer or surveyor, licensed architect, or building inspector employed by the city or parish or by a lending institution chartered under federal or state law, that states he inspected the immovable at a specified time and work had not then been commenced nor materials placed at its site, provided the affidavit is filed within four business days after the execution of the affidavit, and the mortgage, privilege, or other document creating the right is filed before or within four business days of the filing of the affidavit. The correctness of the facts recited in the affidavit may not be controverted to affect the priority of the rights of the person to whom or for whom it is given, unless actual fraud by such person is proven. A person who gives a false or fraudulent affidavit shall be responsible for any loss or damage suffered by any person whose rights are adversely affected.

D. A person acquiring or intending to acquire a mortgage, privilege, or other right under Subsection C of this Section shall have priority in accordance with R.S. 9:4821, regardless of whether work has begun or materials were delivered to the job site after the effective date and time of the affidavit, but prior to the recordation of the mortgage, privilege, or other right, provided that the document creating the right was filed before or within four business days of the filing of the affidavit.

Acts 1981, No. 724, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1982; Acts 1986, No. 424, §1; Acts 1988, No. 904, §1; Acts 1988, No. 999, §1; Acts 1991, No. 370, §1; Acts 1995, No. 666, §1; Acts 2003, No. 729, §1; Acts 2012, No. 425, §1.

{{NOTE: SEE ACTS 1988, NO. 999, §1.}}