Construction Lien Enforcement Timeliness Based on Deemed Service and Postal Record Date

The central issue was whether a claimant timely filed an action to enforce construction lien rights within a three-month forfeiture period, dependent on the deemed date of service of an appeal deadline which itself followed a seven-day retrieval period for a registered mail notice. The court reasoned that the fictional service day for the end of the retrieval period can fall on a Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday, distinguishing it from the general rule for appeal deadlines, and determined that the relevant date for the start of the retrieval period was governed by the post office’s date stamp on the collection notice (October 1, 2007), overriding inferences drawn from incomplete "Track & Trace" scanning data, which evidenced a failure attributable to the postal service, thus concluding the appeal deadline ended on October 18, 2007, and the subsequent filing on January 17, 2008, was timely.