Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 43-16 (2026)

What owner may do when contractor fails or refuses to complete building, etc

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section VA-LISlaw.lis.virginia.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

If the owner is compelled to complete his building, structure, or railroad, or any part thereof undertaken by a general contractor in consequence of the failure or refusal of the general contractor to do so, the amount expended by the owner for such completion shall have priority over all mechanics' liens which have been or may be placed on such building, structure, or railroad by such general contractor, a subcontractor under him, or any person furnishing labor or materials to either of them.

Code 1919, § 6432.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 8 cases, 1960–2000 · leading case: E. E. Stump Well Drilling, Inc. v. Willis, 338 S.E.2d 841 (Va. 1986).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

E. E. Stump Well Drilling, Inc. v. Willis, 338 S.E.2d 841 (Va. 1986). · cites it 19× “At the heart of the controversy is Code § 43-16, 1 which provides that if “the owner” is compelled to complete a building because of the general contractor’s default, the amount expended by “the owner” for such completion shall have priority over all mechanics’ liens placed on…”

Lubman v. C.A. Guard Masonry Contractor, Inc. (In Re Gem Constr. Corp. of Virginia), 262 B.R. 638 (Bankr. E.D. Va. 2000). · cites it 2× “” Va. Code Ann. § 43-16 . The court finds that C.”

Knight v. Ferrante, 117 S.E.2d 283 (Va. 1960). · cites it 3× “Section 43-16 contemplates that this may happen.”

Henderson & Russell Assocs., Inc. v. Warwick Shopping Ctr., Inc., 229 S.E.2d 878 (Va. 1976). · cites it 6× “Henderson contends that Code § 43-16 2 is controlling, and that Warwick cannot avail itself of any setoff for cost of completion unless the building has been completed within a reasonable time.”

Loyola Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n v. Herndon Lumber & Millwork, Inc., 241 S.E.2d 752 (Va. 1978). “Correspondingly, § 43-13.1 specifies that one is guilty of a felony who knowingly presents a forged waiver of lien form “to an owner, his agent, contractor, lender, or title company” for certain purposes.”

Springfield Eng'g Corp. v. Three Score Dev. Corp., 26 Va. Cir. 186 (Stafford Cir. Ct. 1992). · cites it 3× “2d 841 (1986), the Supreme Court had to decide whether the vendee in a *194 contract of sale of real estate, which was unrecorded, who had completed the construction of improvements on the property, was entitled to priority as an “owner” over Stump’s mechanic’s lien, pursuant to…”

Harrell Builders, Inc. v. Watters, 27 Va. Cir. 275 (Fredericksburg Cir. Ct. 1992). · cites it 2× “Virginia Code § 43-16, which allows an owner to set off against a mechanic’s lien his cost of completion, does not modify the law of *279 damages as it relates to building contracts.”

R. C. Lee Carpet & Tile, Inc. v. Core Constr. Corp., 12 Va. Cir. 159 (Spotsylvania Cir. Ct. 1988). “In that case, Stump, the mechanic’s lien claimant, argued that the owner of an equitable interest should be considered an "owner" under § 43-16 only if his contract is recorded.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.