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S.C. Code Ann. § 29-5-120

Time for bringing suit to enforce lien; dissolution and release of lien

Applied in 7 court decisions — leading case Liberty Builders, Inc. v. Horton Ex Rel. Estate of Horton (1999)

Most recently applied in Ferguson Fire & Fabrication, Inc. v. Preferred Fire Protection, L.L.C. (August 2014)

1962 Code SECTION 45-262; 1952 Code SECTION 45-262; 1942 Code SECTION 8737; 1932 Code SECTION 8737; Civ

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Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(A) Unless a suit for enforcing the lien is commenced and notice of pendency of the action is filed within six months after the person desiring to avail himself of it ceases to labor on or furnish labor or material for the building or structure, the lien must be dissolved.

(B) A mechanics' lien and associated bonds may be released by a court order, a written affidavit of the bond holder's attorney, or by a written affidavit from the defendant's attorney stating:

(1) six months has passed since the lien was attached and no suit or notice of pendency has been filed; or

(2) the failure of the filing party to take some other timely action required by this chapter. This affidavit must be in the form approved by the appropriate local office where the mechanics' lien was filed and must reference the lien's recording information.

Official source: South Carolina Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain South Carolina statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.