Possessory Liens

"Any person who renders any service or furnishes any material in the making, repairing, improving, or enhancing the value of any inanimate personal property, with the assent of the owner, express or implied, shall have a lien thereon for the agreed or reasonable compensation for the service and material while such property is lawfully in the person's possession, which possession the person may retain until such compensation is paid, but such lien shall be subject to all prior liens of record, unless notice is given to all lienholders of record and written consent is obtained from all lienholders of record to the making, repairing, improving, or enhancing the value of any inanimate personal property and in this event the lien created under this section shall be prior to liens of record. (I.C.A. § 577.1)

Places for the storage of motor vehicles, boats, and boat engines and boat motors shall have a lien on all property coming into their hands, as such, for their charges and the expense of keeping, but such lien shall be subject to all prior liens of record. (I.C.A. § 579.1)

Every person who furnishes any material or labor for, or performs any labor upon, any building or land for improvement, alteration, or repair thereof, including those engaged in the construction or repair of any work of internal or external improvement, by virtue of any contract with the owner, owner-builder, general contractor, or subcontractor shall have a lien upon such building or improvement. If material is rented by a person to the owner, general contractor, or subcontractor, the person shall have a lien upon such building, improvement, or land to secure payment for the material rental. The lien is for the reasonable rental value during the period of actual use of the material and any reasonable periods of nonuse of the material taken into account in the rental agreement. (I.C.A. § 572.2)"

"In Iowa, one type of possessory lien is an artisan's lien (a type of bailee's lien), where any person who ""renders any service or furnishes any material in the making, repairing, improving, or enhancing the value of any inanimate personal property, with the [consent] of the owner, express or implied, shall have a lien thereon for the agreed or reasonable compensation for the service and material until such compensation is paid. . . ."" Iowa Code § 577.1 (2001). The nature of an artisan's lien in Iowa is generally aircraft and equipment. The holder of an artisan's lien has a recognized right in the specific personalty involved, which is commonly designated as a security or encumbrance as security for payment of a debt. Iowa Truck Ctr., Inc. v. Davis, 204 N.W.2d 630 (Iowa 1973).

""If material is rented by a person to the owner, the owner's agent, trustee, contractor or subcontractor, the person shall have a lien upon such building, improvement, or land to secure payment for the material rental."" Iowa Code § 572.2(2). In order to successfully enforce a mechanic's lien, substantial performance of the contract is required. Bidwell v. Midwest Solariums, Inc., 543 N.W.2d 293, 295 (Iowa Ct. App. 1995). ""Substantial performance allows only the omissions or deviations from the contract that are inadvertent or unintentional, not the result of bad faith, do not impair the structure as a whole, are remedial without doing material damages to other portions of the building, and may be compensated for through deductions from the contract price."" Id."

If the bailee parts with his or her possession, before he or she has been paid, the lien is lost, and it will not be reinstated by bailee again coming into the possession of the goods, without the consent or agreement of the bailor. Nevan v. Roup, 8 Iowa 207 (1859).