Appeal
from the Circuit Court of the 12th Judicial Circuit, Will
County, Illinois. Circuit No. 14-L-279 Honorable John C.
Anderson, Judge, Presiding.
SCHMIDT JUSTICE delivered the judgment of the court, with
opinion. Justices McDade and Wright concurred in the judgment
and opinion.
OPINION
SCHMIDT JUSTICE
¶
1 The Estate of Richard A. Demith (Estate) appeals the trial
court's orders granting summary judgment to Carpentry by
Connor Construction, Inc. (Connor), and E Trinity
Construction, LLC (E Trinity), on their respective complaints
to foreclose their mechanic's liens. We affirm.
¶
2 FACTS
¶
3 I. The Parties
¶
4 Anekom is a general contractor. Connor and E Trinity are
subcontractors. The Estate is the owner of the subject
property located in Mokena, Illinois. Joette LaValley is the
independent executor of the Estate. Connor and E Trinity
contracted with Anekom to complete work on the Estate's
property. Anekom is not a party to this appeal.
¶
5 II. The Original Contract and the Parties' Performance
¶
6 On May 11, 2013, Anekom entered into a contract with
LaValley, in her capacity as independent executor of the
Estate, to demolish the Estate's fire-damaged structure
and construct a new house in its place. Pursuant to the
contract, Anekom agreed to complete the work within 180 days
according to the plans and specifications provided by the
Estate in exchange for payment of $414, 000.
¶
7 On May 16, 2013, Anekom subcontracted with E Trinity to
install footings, basement floor base, and a garage floor. E
Trinity completed its work under the subcontract on September
12, 2013.
¶
8 On September 21, 2013, Anekom subcontracted with Connor for
carpentry work. Connor completed its work under the
subcontract on October 21, 2013.
¶
9 On October 28, 2013, the Estate terminated the contract
with Anekom after it determined the construction of the new
house was not on schedule to be completed within the
contractual 180-day term.
¶
10 On April 29, 2014, the Estate entered into a contract with
a second general contractor, Peak Construction and
Remodeling, Inc. (Peak). The contract provided that
"Peak Construction & Remodeling will be taking over
and completing the LaValley residence" for a total cost
of $280, 633.
¶
11 III. Claims for Mechanic's Liens
¶
12 On November 22, 2013, Connor filed a notice and claim for
mechanic's lien against Anekom and LaValley, in her
capacity as independent executor of the Estate, in the amount
of $63, 500. On November 27, 2013, E Trinity filed a notice
and claim for mechanic's lien against the Estate and
Anekom in the amount of $38, 070. On January 14, 2014, Anekom
filed an original contractor's claim for lien against
...