Lamar Johnson Collaborative, Inc. v. 225 West Randolph Owner, LLC

This case arises from a mechanics lien enforcement action filed by The Lamar Johnson Collaborative (LJC) against 225 West Randolph Owner, LLC and Onni Contracting. After LJC's original complaint was dismissed without prejudice and with leave to amend, and the case was stayed for mediation, defendants filed a petition to substitute a surety bond for the lien under section 38.1 of the Mechanics Lien Act. The trial court denied that petition and later denied a second petition filed after LJC's amended complaint, finding both untimely under the Act's five-month filing deadline. Defendants appealed the denial.

The Illinois Appellate Court, First District, affirmed. It held that the five-month deadline in section 38.1(c) begins running upon the filing of the first pleading asserting the lien claim and is not restarted by a later amended pleading raising the same claim, since a contrary reading would render the statutory deadline meaningless given how routinely and easily complaints are amended. The court also rejected the argument that dismissal with leave to amend terminated the 'pending action,' noting that the case remained pending—as shown by the trial court's stay for mediation—so the amended complaint did not create a new action or reset the clock. Finally, the court declined to read a 'viability' requirement into the statute, finding no textual support for tying the deadline to the filing of a legally sufficient complaint.

For practitioners, this decision clarifies that defendants seeking to bond over a mechanics lien must act within five months of the original complaint or counterclaim asserting the lien, regardless of subsequent amendments, and that procedural stays or dismissals with leave to amend generally do not restart that clock.