Office Memo

Assessment: The Piper case

Prepare an office memo that answers the legal issue of whether the client has a remedy under statutory and case law. Based on the information presented in the problem below, prepare a legal analysis of the question of whether the client has a remedy under M.G.L. c. 254. Please use the IRAC format and fully discuss each step of the IRAC analysis to complete this detailed analysis. Run your timer in Clio for the Piper case.

Facts: The client, Michael Piper, is a subcontractor that was hired by a contractor, John Millway to do plumbing work at the home of Dr. Wendy Warren. Dr. Warren had hired Millway to do some renovations in her basement. She did not have a written contract with Millway. She did, however, pay him $16,000 in two installments. Millway had a partner, Steven Sillman. Millway and Sillman terminated their partnership when the renovation work in Dr. Warren's basement was half done. Dr. Warren continued working with Sillman and never paid Millway another dime. Millway did not pay Piper from the money that Dr. Warren paid him. The client, Piper tells you that he was never paid and is demanding payment from Dr. Warren. He wants to put a lien on her home. Dr. Warren never had a written contract with Piper.

Can Piper put a lien on Dr. Warren's home under M.G.L. c. 254?

Rule of law:

Section 2C of the Massachusetts General Laws states: "A design professional entering into a written contract with the owner of any interest in real property or with any person acting for, on behalf of, or with the consent of such owner, for the provision of professional services relating to the proposed or actual erection, alteration, repair or removal of a building, structure, or other improvement to real property, shall have a lien upon such real property, land, building, structure or improvement owned by the party with whom, on behalf of whom or with the consent of whom the contract was entered into, as appears of record on the date when notice of said contract is filed or recorded in the registry of deeds for the county or district where such land lies, to secure the payment of all amounts due or to become due to the design professional under such contract. Said notice shall be in substantially the following form..."

Section 2d of the Massachusetts General Laws states in pertinent part: "Any person who furnishes professional services under a written subcontract with a design professional who is entitled to enforce a lien under section 2C and whose engagement has been approved in writing by or on behalf of the owner of the interest in land to which lien relates, may file or record in the registry of deeds for the county or district where such land lies a notice of his contract in substantially the following form..."

Case law: You know from your previous meetings with your supervising attorney that the case of Noreastco Door & Millwork, Inc. v. Vajradhatu of Massachusetts, Inc., 1999 Mass.App.Ct.Div. 239 (1999) is relevant to the issue in the case. In fact, you have a copy of the case and your case brief in the client file in Clio. Refer to your case brief to prepare your legal analysis.

Instructions: Run your timer in Clio as you complete this assignment. Be sure to give your analysis and reasoning. Your law office memorandum should be at least two pages double-spaced. Please use the law office memo format located on the Legal Writing Resources page as a template. Be sure to implement the writing strategies you have learned from "The Elements of Style" and use proper form of Bluebook citation.

Before submitting, you will need to ensure that your assignment is "law office ready" by having it reviewed and signed off by a Writing Workshop instructor. Please see the weekly announcements for more information. You will also need to password protect your document with your student ID number before dropping it into the Clio matter file.