How a $78 bill dispute led to a lien on a house

ShaNita Nolan would be the first to say she’s not a fan of the outdoors.

“I’m allergic to grass, ragweed, dust, you name it,” Nolan said.

So, it’s not a surprise that her husband took care of the yard and all the maintenance that comes along with it.

But last summer their lives changed forever when her husband, Greg, was diagnosed with cancer. It spread quickly, and he died Aug. 12. After his funeral, she faced the daunting task of going through his paperwork, along with bills from companies Nolan said her husband dealt with, which included an invoice in his name for $39 from Lawn Doctor of Woodbridge, which she paid.

“So, I’m thinking we’re done,” Nolan said.

Weeks later she received another bill for $78.64 from the same landscaping company, however, that time the bill was in her name.

“So, I’m wondering, what is this?” Nolan said.

Turns out it was the final two payments for an annual fertilizing program her husband signed up for.

The owner of Lawn Doctor of Woodbridge told the News4 I-Team the work was completed. Nolan said she never saw them.

When she reached out, she received an email from the company’s owner that read, “We are very sorry for your loss, but the debt still needs to be paid.”

But when Nolan asked to see the contract her husband signed, she was told in an email from the owner that there was “no written contract.” The Lawn Doctor of Woodbridge owner, Gary Pierpoint, told her — and confirmed to the News 4 I-Team — that he “never had signed contracts” and has only used verbal agreements with his customers “since 1976.”

In another email, Pierpoint said that since she and her husband are “both listed as co-owners of the home, you may not like the idea that you’re responsible. But it’s the law.”

That’s not exactly right, according to consumer protection attorney Matt Rosendahl.

“You and your spouse can enter into separate contracts, and the other spouse is not liable unless they also signed the contract or they also verbally agreed,” said Rosendahl.

He went onto say, "Unless that's actually a specific term of the contract, you are not liable for your spouse's obligations that they take on. And if they, in the event that they unfortunately pass away, it's their estate that is liable."

When there’s no money left in the estate, like in Nolan’s husband’s case, the debt would generally go unpaid, Rosendahl said.

“When I get a bill in my name for something I had no part in, that just, that just did something to me, because I’m really big about justice,” Nolan said.

She told the News4 I-Team that she refused to pay the bill. Soon after, the owner of Lawn Doctor of Woodbridge put what’s called a mechanic’s lien on her property.

In Virginia, any company can file a mechanic’s lien against a property if it supplied labor and materials they claim went unpaid. But there are some very specific rules. The amount of the unpaid bill has to be more than $150, and the company can’t tack on additional fees, Rosendahl said.

The I-Team checked county records on the lien against Nolan’s house and found that the $78 bill had jumped to more than $2,000. When Nolan asked Pierpoint for an explanation, in an email he said he added $1,000 for his “time and effort” to file the lien and another $1,000 for his “time and effort” to release it.

“That’s what we call overburdening the lien, and in that situation, the court is going to also invalidate the lien if they find that they intentionally misled the court and the land records when they filed and said that they, that you owe those amounts,” Rosendahl said.

The I-Team found Pierpoint has filed dozens of mechanic’s liens in Prince William County over the past 20 years, and he told the I-Team he has roughly 20 liens currently pending against customers.

Customers should not ignore a mechanic’s lien, which can be very detrimental when placed on a home because title insurance companies won’t clear the house for sale unless the lien is released, Rosendahl said. Legal counsel often is needed to navigate the complicated process.

After the I-Team sent Pierpoint a copy of the law, he said he would remove the lien – and county records show he did — but he added, "The removal of the lien in no way relieves Mrs. Nolan of the money owed to us."

While Nolan maintains she is not responsible to pay the bill, she mailed the payment to the Lawn Doctor of Woodbridge, saying, “This payment is not an acknowledgement of responsibility but an effort to resolve this matter amicably and avoid further unnecessary conflict.”

She also asked for the account to be closed.

In an email, Pierpoint thanked the I-Team for informing him about the minimum amount due to file a mechanic’s lien.

Reported by Susan Hogan, produced by Rick Yarborough, shot by Steve Jones and Jeff Piper, and edited by Steve Jones.