Owner refuses to pay for tractor repair they requested.

[KL Hansen]

Oregon State, Marion county.

It has been on my property for almost 1 year. The amount for repairs is 50% of local mechanic or dealer rate, so completely reasonable cost. First thought is file mechanics lien, which apparently does not apply. That term is used with construction type liens, not for garage mechanic or repair work. The closest ORS law I can find to fit this situation is a possessors lien, ORS 87.152.

A second possible resource is with the Oregon DMV, which states: "Vehicles repaired, stored, towed, etc, at the request of the owner or lawful possessor of the vehicle. The person who repaired, stored, or towed the vehicle may have a claim to a lien under ORS 87.152. If you foreclose a lien based on these statutes, title should be applied for using a Certificate of Possessors Lien Foreclosure, Form 735-520."

Old tractors do not have titles, and a farm tractor is not considered a vehicle, it has its own definition.

I have been unable to find any lien forms for this situation, or suggestions to what I should do. I know legally its within my rights to hold the tractor till paid in full. A storage fee also needs to be applied, what is the notice procedure required to start adding the storage cost to the invoice?
The total value of the tractor is relatively low. at some point the amount owed will be more than the tractor is worth. Is there any certain point the tractor can be considered forfeited? If the owner does not pay for the repairs I performed, can i legally keep the tractor?

 

[adjusterjack]

Are you in the business of repairing tractors and farm equipment (a real business, not just shade tree tinkering)?

Is your business registered with the state?

Do you have a license to operate, if one is required?

Do you collect and remit sales taxes?

Do you report your repair income on your tax return?

Do you have liability insurance on your "business."

Do you have a written agreement with this "customer" as to what you were to do, how much you were charging, and what the consequences were for non-payment?

You see where I'm going with all this? You might not be legally entitled to collect a dime on the repairs, nor file a lien, nor collect storage.

The best you might be able to do is have it removed under ORS 98.830:

https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/98.830

 

[KL Hansen]

No, I am not in the business of repairing tractors. That is the main reason for the rate charged for my work.
My tractor repair is not a business registered with the state, and I have no business license.
No sales tax in Oregon, and I'm retired, so not filing taxes. The only agreement I have with the customer has been verbal. A verbal contract in Oregon, as far as farms are concerned, is legal for certain situations, like land lease agreement contracts, but that does not help in this situation.

Thinking on those points, each one does make sense, and they should all be addressed. Since they were not, does that mean I stand to lose the investment out of my pocket for misc parts and the labor hours invested? The owner asked for specific repairs, no contract or cost estimate was written.

The part that confuses me is this bit from Oregon. I admit its entirely possible im reading this entirely wrong, i just don't see any additional requirements to be able to file a lien other than be a "person" that repairs at the request of the owner.

ORS 87.152 (Possessory lien for labor or material expended on chattel)
(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, a person that makes, alters, repairs, transports, stores, pastures, cares for, provides services for, supplies materials for or performs labor on a chattel at the request of the owner or lawful possessor of the chattel has a lien on the chattel in the possession of the person for the reasonable or agreed charges for labor, materials or services of the person, and the person may retain possession of the chattel until the charges are paid.

(2)Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, a person may not create, attach, assert or claim a possessory lien on a motor vehicle, as defined in ORS 801.360 (“Motor vehicle”), unless the person performs a service that complies with ORS 646A.480 (Definitions for ORS 646A.480 to 646A.495) to 646A.495 (Owner designee) and that involves making, altering, repairing, transporting, storing, providing services for, supplying material for or performing labor in connection with the motor vehicle and the person:

(a)Is a franchised motor vehicle dealership, as defined in ORS 650.120 (Definitions for ORS 650.120 to 650.170) (5);

(b)Holds a towing business certificate that the Department of Transportation issued under ORS 822.205 (Certificate), provided that the person creates, attaches, asserts or claims a possessory lien only for transporting or storing the motor vehicle; or

(c)Creates, attaches, asserts or claims the lien against an abandoned motor vehicle.

(3)(a) As used in this subsection:

(A)“Auction company” means an entity:

(i)That operates throughout the United States;

(ii)That holds a vehicle dealer certificate that the Department of Transportation issued or renewed under ORS 822.020 (Issuance of certificate) or 822.040 (Privileges granted by certificate), or a dismantler certificate that the department issued or renewed under ORS 822.110 (Dismantler certificate) or 822.125 (Privileges granted by certificate); and

(iii) The primary activity of which, in this state, consists of disposing of totaled motor vehicles.

(B)“Motor vehicle” has the meaning given that term in ORS 801.360 (“Motor vehicle”).

(b)An auction company has a lien on a motor vehicle that the auction company possesses and stored on premises the auction company owns or controls. The auction company may title the motor vehicle in the name of:

(A)The auction company, if the motor vehicle has remained unclaimed on the auction company’s premises for more than 30 days;

(B)The insurance company that directed the auction company to take possession of the motor vehicle; or

(C)An organization with an exemption from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that directed the auction company to take possession of the motor vehicle.

(c)ORS 87.166 (Attachment of liens) and 87.172 (Time period before foreclosure allowed) to 87.212 (Liability for improper sale of fungible chattels) do not apply to chattel that is subject to this subsection.

 

[adjusterjack]

Let's take it a piece at a time.

(1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, a person that makes, alters, repairs, transports, stores, pastures, cares for, provides services for, supplies materials for or performs labor on a chattel at the request of the owner or lawful possessor of the chattel has a lien on the chattel in the possession of the person for the reasonable or agreed charges for labor, materials or services of the person, and the person may retain possession of the chattel until the charges are paid.

You've done the repairs and you are holding the "chattel" until the charges are paid. You would be fine right there were it not for the next section that carves out an exception for motor vehicles.

(2)(a) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, a person may not create, attach, assert or claim a possessory lien on a motor vehicle, as defined in ORS 801.360,

ORS 801.360 defines motor vehicle as "a vehicle that is self-propelled or designed for self-propulsion."

https://law.justia.com/codes/oregon/2019/volume-19/chapter-801/section-801-360/

You were mistaken when you wrote that a farm tractor is not a vehicle. The tractor is a "motor vehicle" for the purpose of the lien law.

(2)(a) allows you a lien (I'll summarize) if you repair vehicles for money (which you do) but also requires you to be "a person" who conforms to any one of the following 3:

(A) Is a franchised motor vehicle dealership, as defined in ORS 650.120 (5);

(B) Holds a towing business certificate that the Department of Transportation issued under ORS 822.205, provided that the person creates, attaches, asserts or claims a possessory lien only for transporting or storing the motor vehicle; or

(C) Creates, attaches, asserts or claims the lien against an abandoned motor vehicle.

Unfortunately, the only statute I found regarding an abandoned motor vehicle is the removal statute that I posted earlier.

And, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation:

You cannot claim ownership of an abandoned vehicle on your property. DMV cannot give you the name or address of the person who owns the vehicle. To have an abandoned vehicle towed from your private property, you must first follow the steps in ORS 98.830. DMV does not provide a “form” for the notice, the information can be written on a piece of paper. Give the notice to the tow company who removes the vehicle.

https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/DMV/Pages/vehicle/vehicletypes.aspx

My take-away from all that is that you don't get to own the tractor through the lien process just because it was abandoned on your property.

You do, however, have another remedy. You can sue your "customer" for the cost of repairs, get a judgment, collect the money and, then, have the tractor removed if he doesn't come get it. You can include storage charges if you want to but I don't think you will be awarded them because you don't have a contract that allows for storage charges, only for the cost of repairs.

 

[KL Hansen]

Wow. Thank you so much for taking the time to help me understand all of that better. That was a pretty big thing for someone to do, thank you.
I was hoping for much better news, but now I know.

 

[adjusterjack]

You're welcome.

I think serving a small claims lawsuit on him might wake him up.

 

[KL Hansen]

That will likely be the next legal learning experience for me, never had to do that before. Thanks again!

 

[FarmerJ]

The clerk of the court in the county you live in may be able to show you the form or if you pay a fee let you copy the small claims court form so you can see what it ask